Konoha High: Tomboy Issues
by samurai girl93
Summary: Tenten, a poor orphan, tries to keep up with the ills of high school - the mountains of work, extracurricular stuff, friends and a crush that is eating at her heart in the form of the new hearthrob at the school - Neji Hyuuga.
1. Prologue

_**PROLOGUE: **_

At first glance, the school looked harmless. It looked like another boring, high-priced High School in the middle of the Fire Country. But looks can be deceiving! Standing in the middle of the dining hall, were two girls, the same age as me, both looking positively average. They sat at the oak table in the immediate vicinity and nibbled on their sandwiches while shot glances at the other students – The jock and cheerleader tables to the right and the bratty rich girl tables to their left, with all the others falling in between.

I was the poor girl, playing rich with my second hand school uniform and books and my scholarship slip to be handed in personally to the Chancellor Tsunade. The Chancellor's words from this morning echoed in my mind – _We expect nothing less than excellence from you here at Konoha, Miss Tenten. In order to keep up with you scholarship, we anticipate that you take part in extracurricular activities and be able to remain a straight A student._ I had just nodded to show that I had understood fully and in my heart I promised myself that I was going to be the best student to graduate from Konoha High. In four years.

The two girls, who I was obviously staring at, saw me, and, after a moment's deliberation, they beckoned me closer. I walked stealthily over to them, in the middle of the dining hall, and as I came closer the one with the long blonde hair pushed out a chair for me with her foot and patted the seat, which was next to her. As I sat, the two girls just observed me as I took out my sandwich and juice box.

"Um, thanks for allowing me to sit here," I said shyly, not knowing what to expect.

"Hey, it's no prob," the blond haired girl had replied waving her manicured hand aimlessly, "You looked a bit lost and I was just doing my good deed for the day."

The other girl, who had pink hair and greenest eyes I've ever seen, rolled her eyes at her friend and stuck out her arm towards me. "My name's Sakura, Sakura Haruno. And this idiot next to me is Ino Yamanaka."

I shook her hand and replied, "Nice to meet you both. My name's Tenten."

And it was at that moment, I started to feel like I had belonged. Growing up in the orphanage, was the worst experience anyone could ever had and this is why I had grabbed at the opportunity to leave my old life behind and to become a new person; the person I will be for the next four years in this school. Ino and Sakura became my best friends and I really thought that all will be well. But like I said before, at first glance this school looked harmless but it was totally far from that.


	2. Why I hate Mondays

Chapter 1

_**Why I hate Mondays.**_

_What a mystery love is,  
I thought that it would never happen to me  
But I was wrong  
I'm here again writing  
Writing about how I feel  
Here am I falling  
For a guy  
This guy seems like no other I've met  
I want to be more than just friends_

_(An excerpt from the Poem – __Crush__ by Kendra Castaneda)_

One Month Later…

_Ding ding ding ding ding!_

Tenten rolled over onto her back and opened her bloodshot eyes. _It cannot be morning already_, she thought, and she turned her head to the left to observe the plain, little, old alarm clock, which had just recently became her number 1 personal enemy, ringing away as if to prove to Tenten that it was indeed time for her to get up.

It was almost five minutes past six when Tenten finally swung her legs off the mattress and sat up slowly while rubbing her eyes, making them even redder. This was only the start of the fourth week at Konoha High; another hateful Monday had shown up and reared its ugly head. After a month at this new school, she was starting to get frustrated at being the new girl, whose clothes definitely didn't look new by the standards of the so called 'elites'. Ino and Sakura, her new friends, didn't seem to mind her slightly ragged look or the fact that her text books looked so tattered, they seemed to be disintegrating before their eyes. Tenten was their friend because she was a breath of fresh air in their lives, (Ino and Sakura knew each other since kindergarten) and she was the kind of person who didn't want to fit in or stand out; she just wanted to be herself, which in both of her new friends' books was good enough for them.

While she brushed her teeth, she mused over her weekend. Friday evening she had her four hour shift at Takahama's, a supermarket about four blocks away from her small dingy apartment. Then when she arrived home at 9 she cracked open her calculus books to start working on her home work. She went to bed at 12 that night ( or I should say morning) only to wake up at 6 am to start her routine all over – work and study until the wee hours of the morning only stopping to eat and jog in the park close to the apartment complex. She had to keep in shape if she wanted to try out for the soccer team, seeing that she was pretty good at scoring goals in her old team and this was the only possible extracurricular activity she could stick into her already tight schedule. Sunday was the only day she had off, since Mr. Takahama and his wife always closed on a Sunday, and this gave her time to work at a department store, in the vicinity of the mini mart, and study some more.

So after four weeks, the lack of sleep was starting to frustrate Tenten, especially on Mondays. She was particularly grumpy fro the first couple of hours of the day and just to tick it off more was that _Karin_, the head cheerleader, was in her homeroom. Unfortunately neither Ino nor Sakura was in her homeroom, so instead of her friends she got the biggest dummy in the freshman class and two members of her bitch squad, Rin and Tayuya. Both Rin and Tayuya are from the Land of Rice Paddies. Their rich parents paid for them to attend Konoha high, which to Tenten seemed to be a waste since they were already at the bottom of their class, scraping a meager C average. And instead of studying, all three girls found life interesting by making fun of the smart ones, the ones who weren't popular and the one's who weren't as rich as they were. In other words, people like Tenten, since she fit into all three categories. It took a lot from the athletic built girl to not strangle them everyday and the phrase 'Everything will get better with time' became her mantra.

After brushing her teeth and taking a lukewarm shower to wake her up, she glanced at the clock and yelped, "Oh no, it's already half past seven!" _What the hell was I doing all the time_, she mused as she put on her school uniform – a red and black plaid pleated skirt that reached her mid thigh, a long-sleeved white shirt and her black long sleeved blazer with the schools' monogram over her left breast pocket. The ensemble was completed with knee high black stockings and her all black shoes. She combed her hair out in a hurry, leaving most of the tangles, and put it up in her usual two buns while choking down her toast and glass of orange juice. She grabbed her school bag and half open folder with most of her papers exposed. She ran out of her apartment almost treading on her neighbor's cat only realizing it after she heard the poor thing screech.

"Sorry Chansu!" she yelled over her shoulder as she rounded the corner and walked briskly through the crisp morning air. It was already quarter to eight and she still had a long way to go. She started running, dodging pedestrians as she tried to keep her satchel on her shoulder while keeping her school assignments from getting free from their confinements in her arms. All while she was doing this she neared the compound as the school bell rang and her left shoe started the slip off of her foot.

She swore, as she was forced to stop. "Damn it!" she exclaimed while re-fixing her buckle. "This is exactly why I hate Monday's!"

* * *

Ino was tapping her foot impatiently as she and Sakura was waiting for Tenten, who was always late for Monday morning assembly, at the main hall entrance. It was almost five past eight and students were filing into the hall, except Sakura and Ino who were tiptoeing trying to see over the heads of their peers for the first sign of two buns like panda ears, to appear.

Ino checked her watch for the umpteenth time. "Oh come on! Where the hell is this girl?"

Sakura tiptoed again this time noticing the tomboy in question, hurtling towards them in top speed. "Here she comes Ino!"

Tenten pulled herself in a skid stopping right before the two girls and exhaled noisily. "Phew! Did I make it?"

"Yeah, you did Ten," replied Sakura, consulting her wristwatch, "and in record time too!"

"How'd I do?" asked Tenten, still breathing heavily also looking at Sakura's watch, which was now reading five past. The tomboy smirked and exclaimed, "Nice!" and gave Sakura a high-five when Ino grabbed them both by their wrists and dragged them into the assembly hall where Chancellor Tsunade was already on the podium shouting to the hordes of students to be quiet.

The three girls dropped into their seats close to the exit in the freshman section and Tenten and Sakura took the opportunity to annoy Ino some more by continuing their previous conversation.

"Nice work today Ten! Only was off by a couple of seconds," said Sakura.

"I know right! And that's including the fact that I was already in the compound when my show buckle came lose."

"Again! You should really try to get that thing fixed…"

"Would you both shut up already!" hissed Ino, just as the Chancellor of KH started to speak and the hall became as quiet as a mouse. "For god's sake, stop acting so juvenile! You guys are in _freaking _high school!" she muttered while Tenten and Sakura grinned.

For the next ten minutes, the said their school prayers, sang the school's song and the Fire countries national anthem. Tenten still hadn't gotten the hang of the school's song since one she can't sing and two she never did get around to learning the words. So she just mouthed random words in hope that no one would notice. And no one did.

Afterwards Tsunade announced that the school was allowed to leave for their first period – Homeroom. Ino, Sakura and Tenten walked out of the hall together until they approached Tenten's class. Ino took this opportunity hold Tenten by her shoulders and shake her.

"Okay Ten. It's a new week with new opportunities and I want you take a deep breath and go to class and do not let those bitches get the better of your attitude. Do you get me?" asked Ino while shaking Tenten.

Tenten grabbed Ino's wrists and removed her hands from her shoulders while rolling her eyes, "Yes mother."

Ino pouted in return and Sakura chortled. "You better listen to her Ten, 'cause if you do get in a fight with them Ino might just finish it."

"Yeah, yeah," Tenten replied and turned to enter her classroom as Ino began walking away. But Sakura called after the both girls. "Later Ten, if you do get into an altercation with the bitch squad, I want a piece of Karin's ass." Tenten saluted to her as she turned to follow Ino to their home room.

Her homeroom professor Kurenai Yuhi was already sitting on her desk while talking to a girl she had never seen before. She had long, pin straight, black hair that fell somewhere close to her waist. She was shorter than herself but looked more abundant in the curves department than any freshman she knew here at school. Her lavender eyes, which Tenten thought were very pretty, were blinking nervously at the Kurenai-sensei and her hands were fidgeting with her belongings. _She probably is new_, thought Tenten, but then a next question popped into her intellectual mind. If she was a new freshman why was she starting school a month late?

She took her seat in the second row without taking her eyes off of the new girl. _Who is she_?

"Penny for your thoughts small fry?"

Tenten rolled her eyes and without even looking at the person she took out her folder and began reorganizing her papers. "What the hell do you want Karin?" she snapped.

"Oh, not so much in a good mood today are we?" Karin was chastising her, again, with that annoying screech she called a voice.

Tenten didn't bother to answer but Karin, following her eyesight, said, "That's Hinata Hyuga, but don't even bother introducing yourself to her. She belongs to us elites."

Tenten dropped her folder on the desk in front of her and turned to Karin with a haughty look and scoffed at the redhead, "Since when the new girl _belonged_ to you. I don't see your name tattooed on her skin showing your ownership."

Tayuya and Rin, Karin's cronies, cackled with their equally aggravating voices. "You really are clueless aren't you?" snickered Tayuya.

"Haven't you heard of the Hyuga clan?" asked Rin. She continued as I cocked an arrogant eyebrow at her question, "Well, _Tenten_, the Hyuga clan is the richest family in the Fire country, with exception of the daimyo himself."

Kurenai-sensei then took that moment to signal for silence from her class, with her quiet yet firm voice. Karin and her minions actually retreated without making one bitchy remark at me causing me to be inwardly shocked. _But the day is still new and there would be more opportunities_, I thought and inwardly sighed.

The new girl stood up next to our teacher, with her head slightly bowed, looking at us shyly through long black lashes. _Come to think of it, the name Hyuga did ring a bell_, I contemplated, _but from where?_

I frowned again as Kurenai introduced the newbie to our class. "Ladies and gentlemen, this is Hinata Hyuga. I know she's starting late but it was purely accidental; Neji is also starting late and I would expect that you will all treat Hinata with the same respect you show her cousin. Am I making myself very clear?"

"Yes Kurenai-sensei," my classmates chanted back loud enough to hide Karin, Rin and Tayuya's squeals at the mere fact that Kurenai-sensei had mentioned Hinata's cousin. When our teacher was showing Hinata to her seat, I leaned forward and nudged a chubby boy sitting in front of me; Chouji Akimichi.

"Hey Chouji, what's the deal about Hinata's cousin?"

Chouji took his time to answer my question since he was busy munching away at some potato chips; the bag was hidden under his desk. He swallowed and then said, "Neji Hyuga," he said his name with some reverence, "is the gold medal winner in the Inter-country Martial Arts Tournament. He's the youngest person to participate in the black belt category so therefore he's immediately one of our school's golden boys, if you know what I mean." I nodded and he continued, "Neji's a sophomore and everyone practically worships the ground he walks on, including the teachers. That's why the Chancellor's not that bothered by the idea that Neji and his little cousin is waltzing back to school. If it was anyone else she would be fuming but…"

"But it's this Hyuga dude, I get it," I finished for him as he turned around. I sat back and then the brainwave hit me. I did hear that name before. His name was called by the daimyo from the list of representatives taking part in this tournament in the Lightning country. I knew this because my name was called together with his and Hinata's. _So this was why they were late huh?_ I didn't think that I would get any more vexed on a Monday, but the idea that I didn't have the money to attend the tournament like these Hyuga's just made me more pissed!

* * *

At half past eight the bell rang for our second period, which, according to my timetable, was Chemistry. Neither Ino nor Sakura was in my class, so I proceeded to my locker by myself so I could grab my books and lab coat. I spun the combination aimlessly – two, eight, four, another two, another four – and the door swung open. While I was busy sorting out my books, the locker next to me opened. It was locker that I hadn't seen anyone using since the start of the school term. But before I could investigate someone timidly tapped me on my shoulder. I turned my head only to see the new girl; shy Hinata Hyuga.

"Oh, um, hi… Hinata was it?" I asked kindly. When she nodded her head, in rapid motion, I held out my hand and said, "Nice to meet you. I'm Tenten."

She took my hand and shook it, timidly of course, and replied, "T-thank-k y-you. Um I was wondering…"

"What is it?" I asked, watching as she cast her eyes downward and she started playing with her fingers shyly.

"Can you help me find my next class, please?"

"Uh, sure no probs," I replied good-naturedly as I closed my locker. "What do you have next?"

She gestured to her time table which she was still holding, "Chemistry…" she faltered a bit when the locker door that I was standing with my back faced to hit, the one I'd never seen anyone use, closed suddenly. She looked over my shoulder and her eyes widened suddenly and she continued with a slight tremor to her already shaky voice, "… in Lab three."

"Ok no probs," I repeated, looking at Hinata's expression with a frown, still wondering what on earth could have spooked her. So I said, "That's my next class, so we can walk together."

She just nodded unconsciously, still staring over my shoulder. "Hinata what on earth are you looking at?" I said, as I took a half-step back and spun around only to find myself standing directly in from of a boy a couple inches taller than me.

I took a chance a looked him square in the face only to realize whose face I was breathing on. And the lavender eyes only confirmed that!

Neji Hyuga was just staring down at me; his face only inches from mine.

And I don't know what the hell happened to me but I was blushing like crazy!

* * *

Hope you guys enjoy this one and thanks to my reviewers!


	3. Can my day get any worse?

Chapter 2

_**Can my day get any worse? **_

"_Everyone has his day and some days last longer than others." - Winston Churchill, British Politician and Leader_

Ok let's recap.

I was having the usual irritating Monday.

A new elite has entered the ranks of Konoha High and my class.

This said elite, breaks all of the unspoken rules of Konoha High social activity by asking me, someone at the bottom of the social food-chain, if I could accompany her to class.

And now I was face to face, literally, with the most popular guy of the sophomore class.

I sure in hell didn't see that one coming.

* * *

Tenten's ears started to burn as Neji's eyes narrowed on her face. She was obviously invading his personal space, but she was so frozen that she couldn't even move.

Or breathe for that matter.

Neji's glance softened somewhat as he allowed his eyes to roam the extent of her face; her chapped lips (she definitely refused to wear lip balm), her average looking nose, the pinkish tinge to her cheeks and finally her eyes; her brown eyes that were round with shock and her long lashes obscuring her eyesight as she blinked rapidly.

He continued to stare deeply into her eyes, only making her even more uncomfortable. His gaze was so intense; it was like he was seeking out her soul.

Or maybe he was just wondering who the hell she was and why hadn't she stepped away as soon as she realized their close proximity.

She gulped when she saw his reaction. She was expecting him to punch her lights out or push her away. Hell, she even thought that he might swear like how she heard some of the other 'elites' do when someone like her got too close to them. But what he did was not what she expected.

He smiled. Well, more like smirked, causing her face to become redder than before.

And why the hell was she blushing?

Someone cleared their throat behind her and it took a while to register who it was. Neji's eyes shifted from her own and looked at the said person.

"Um, h-hel-lo nii-san," Hinata stuttered.

Neji acknowledged her with a 'hn', while slightly inclining his head, and looked at Tenten again before turning on his heels and walking away leaving the two girls to stare after him.

Tenten was so absorbed in watching the swish of his long hair, held together at the end with a leather hair tie, that she didn't hear the second bell ringing. Hinata tugged on Tenten's sleeve and she immediately snapped out of the trance she was in. She motioned to Hinata to follow her down the passage, as she took off in haste while shaking her head, as if to rid her mind from the unpleasant and embarrassing first meeting of the boy Karin and her crew was squealing over. Hinata had to jog to keep up with her new friend, whose face was still a brilliant red.

"The Lab is right up ahead," Tenten muttered to Hinata, while she was still apparently hyperventilating. Tenten clutched her books tightly while thinking to herself, _Wow girl, you really know how to make yourself look stupid in front of a guy._ Hinata glanced at her and thought; _Well she isn't the first person to act this way in front of nii-san_.

The last few students entered the classroom and Hinata pulled Tenten back slightly. "Tenten, are you ok?" she asked quietly.

Tenten took a deep breath and then started putting on her lab coat and Hinata copied her. "Look Hinata, I'm fine. But I need to apologize to your cousin for you know," she said gesturing wildly, as Hinata frowned, "being so close to him."

Hinata gripped her wrists and said, "Tenten I don't think …"

She was interrupted when the Chemistry teacher stepped outside and leaned against the doorframe, with her arms folded, and said, "Miss Tenten and Miss Hyuga will you both finish your conversation after my class. Or you can just stand there."

Hinata immediately dropped Tenten's wrists and both girls entered the lab, where the students were already setting up their apparatus and opening text books. Hinata took her seat next to Tenten, who didn't have a lab partner, and was only half listening to what the teacher was saying.

When the teacher gave the signal, they lit their Bunsen burners and set up their water baths. Hinata then took this opportunity to speak to Tenten, provided that the sound of clinking glass burettes and beakers against metal stirrers would be able to conceal their hushed conversation.

When their solution was left to boil, Hinata whispered to Tenten, "I don't think it's a good idea."

Tenten passed her hand over her brow to wipe off the sweat and then turned to Hinata frowning, "What is?"

"You, going to apologize to my cousin." When Tenten didn't respond, Hinata continued, "Usually if someone over steps his boundaries with Neji, he'd beat the hell out of them or find someway to make their miserable. And the way he was looking at you causes me to be worried. I think you should stay away from him, please?" she sounded as though she was pleading.

Tenten sighed and replied, "I guess you're right. But I could still take him you know."

"Huh?" It was Hinata's turn to look confused and Tenten just burst into laughter and said, "Just kidding!"

Hinata then allowed herself a small grin. But their laughter was immediately ceased when their solution exploded.

* * *

"Ten, what the hell is that on your face?" Ino asked during lunch.

I looked at her, with my chopsticks hovering in midair with rice, and asked, "What d'you mean?"

Sakura handed me her mirror and I saw a smudge of cobalt blue that had escaped the scrubbing I gave my face in the girl's washroom after the disaster during chemistry. "Oh that," I said as I wiped it away, "Our solution overheated and it exploded during chem."

Sakura grinned as I returned the mirror and I took this opportunity to tell them about Hinata. "Hey guys, have you heard about the Hyuga clan?"

Sakura and Ino both nodded with their mouths full of food. Ino was the first person to respond as she swallowed down her noodles. "Yeah they're richest family in the Fire Country. What about them?"

"Well, there's this new girl in my Homeroom. Her name's Hinata Hyuga and she is really nice…"

"Wait you're friends with Hinata Hyuga?" asked Sakura cutting me off. Ino's cerulean eyes were rounded in shock.

"Yeah, we kinda are. Why? What's wrong?" I asked since Ino and Sakura were still looking at me, totally dumbstruck.

"Um, nothing it's just that she's already considered an 'elite' by the social standards in this school," mused Sakura while Ino just nodded at me.

"I know," I said sighing. "During Homeroom Karin and the bitch squad already laid down the rules saying 'Hinata is theirs'."

"Just be careful ok," persisted Sakura, before taking another bite of her food. "You never know what those people can do to you if you violate your social _boundaries_." She said that with a snort.

Tenten started to feel uncomfortable with what Sakura said. "Well, um, I think I did overstep my boundary earlier."

"What do you mean?" she asked totally perplexed.

"I think I know," whispered Ino as she was looking over Tenten's shoulder. Tenten and Sakura looked at Ino as she didn't shift her line of sight. "Ten, what the _hell_ did you do to Neji Hyuga?"

Tenten gulped as she continued to stare at her friend, petrified to look around. Sakura, on the other hand, swiveled in her seat to look behind them only to see the tall, good-looking, heartthrob of the sophomore class, leaning on the wall and looking quite intimidating, close to the main entrance to the dining hall staring at Tenten and didn't look as though he was going to be moving anytime soon.

"Tenten, what did you do?" asked Sakura, echoing Ino's initial question, with a frantic edge to her voice.

When Tenten finished explaining the episode earlier that morning, Ino gasped and said, "He's going to kill you!"

Sakura punched Ino on the shoulder and snarled, "Don't be ridiculous Pig! I don't think Neji Hyuga'll hit a girl."

"Yeah but Hinata told me to tread carefully around him 'cause she doesn't know what he'll do!" Tenten shrieked.

The bell rang signaling the end of lunch and the girls patted Tenten on her back as they cleared away their dishes. They gathered up their school bags and Ino told Tenten, "Just try to avoid him at all times."

She nodded and as they passed through the panel doors together, he was no where in sight.

* * *

Tenten wasn't taking any chances. After making sure the coast was clear, she ran up to her locker at top speed and grabbed all the books she needed for the last three periods, and then took off again at top speed to her next class as though hell hounds were chasing her.

But what she didn't notice was that the boy in question she was hiding from was looking at her all the time, partially concealed as he hid around the corner from her.

* * *

Finally school was over. Tenten, Ino and Sakura sat together in the third row staring at the clock over their Physics teacher Genma Shiranui, while he continued to preach on and on about Newton's laws. This was the only class they had together, except PE when all of the freshmen classes were combined, and as much as Tenten liked being in the same class with her two friends, she just wanted to go home. Today, she decided, was to damn eventful and she hoped to God that the rest of the week was going to be as dull as it possibly could.

By the time all three girls had stopped at their respective lockers and gathered all of their books they needed for the night, it was already quarter past three. Tenten started to freak since she had to get to work in 15 minutes. So after telling her friends goodbye at the main exit, she headed down the road, fully intending to use the shortcut she had discovered during her after school jogging early one morning.

Her folder was, once again, packed haphazardly and the papers were threatening to fall out and scatter all over the sidewalk. She was so petrified at the idea of meeting Neji again that had just pelted everything pell-mell and ran out of the school compound. She was nearing the turn, just across the road, when she had seen a figure leaning up against the railings. She was tugging at the zipper to close the folder that she wasn't really paying attention to the person or where she was walking. Which is why she stumbled, knocking the half open folder to the ground spilling its contents. She swore and stooped down to pick them up. Her hand reached for her English notes just as another hand swiped it up.

She snatched it back hurriedly only to see that person who was helping her was Neji, and he was cocking an eyebrow at her as if to show that she was not very good at evading someone. Tenten gasped and with a hurried 'thank you' she took off again at top speed in the opposite direction. The long way to Takahama's, she decided, would have to do today!

* * *

It was close to the end of her shift and Tenten was gathering up her belongings to leave. But there was one thing missing; her keys to her apartment! She started to panic and emptied her bag madly looking for them. She knew that she wouldn't be able to pick the dead bolt so she needed to find them. Tears weld up in her eyes as she continued to frantically check for them around the store and in the storage room, where she was for most of the evening.

Mrs. Takahama came looking for her and said when she saw the teen's tears, "Tenten, child, what's the matter?"

"I can't find my apartment keys anywhere," she replied choking back the sobs that were threatening to be exposed.

"Tenten, you dropped them when you were on your way here," Mrs. Takahama scolded.

That hit a brainwave in Tenten's mind. _I must have dropped them when I dropped my papers this afternoon_, she thought.

Mrs. Takahama handed the bunch of keys to Tenten and started to walk back to the front desk. But Tenten stopped her.

"What a sec, if I dropped them at school how did you end up with them, Mrs. Takahama?"

"Oh, um, a boy came by earlier and gave them to me," she replied over her shoulder.

"A boy?" asked Tenten, she followed the mini mart owner, out front. "What boy?"

"Um, he looked a little older than you. Long hair, lavender eyes," Tenten froze, but the proprietor continued, "Oh yes, he was wearing the same school uniform as yours, so it looked like one of you classmates and he dropped them off a couple minutes after you arrived and you were already working in the storage room." She disappeared from Tenten's eyesight as she drunk in the words.

A boy with long hair and lavender eyes, the signature traits of the Hyuga clan, returned her keys.

Neji returned her keys.

She gasped, "Oh God now he knows where I work!"

Defying him was not going to be easy.

* * *

Hope you all enjoy this chapter as much as I did when writting it! Thanks again to my reviewers!


	4. The Note in the Locker

Chapter 3:

_**The Note in the Locker.**_

"_I __want to tell you what I'm feeling, but I don't know where to start. So for now I'll just write it down!"_

Tenten was a nervous wreck. It was already 8 am and she was still pacing in front of the school gate. She could neither sleep nor study properly last night, because Neji Hyuga kept popping into her mind. Not in a bad way though! She was deliberating how she could thank him for returning her keys and, while she was at it, apologize to him for their previous encounter.

But she still tried to come to terms with another feeling she got whenever she remembered what transpired in front of their lockers. It was a warm, fluttery feeling in the pit of her stomach that she had never felt before. It went away temporarily and Tenten assumed that it was just because she hadn't eaten properly. But this morning, when she had glimpsed Neji and Hinata exiting their family's limousine, the feeling had returned and she was really confused by it.

The school bell rang and Tenten jolted out of her own thoughts and immediately stopped pacing and ran into the school, where she met an extremely pissed Ino who was waiting for her by her locker. Both she and Ino had biology with Shizune-sensei for the first two periods of the day and they usually met ten minutes before class before all the good seats were taken. So she couldn't blame Ino for being angry with her since she was late and now they were going to sit in the back of the lab. And why? Because she didn't want to meet Neji Hyuga.

She skidded to a stop in front of Ino and when her blond haired friend opened her mouth to give her sound cuss out, she said, "Ino, I'm sorry for being late, but any cussing you have to do will have to wait for the moment."

She started to walk briskly towards her locker with Ino keeping in pace with her. Ino frowned and asked, "Ok, so why were you late then?"

Tenten shushed her and pulled her to a stop at the corner when she spotted Neji at the lockers. When he finally disappeared, she pulled a shocked Ino behind her as she opened her locker at top speed.

"Ten what the hell was all that about?"

She spun the dial on her lock and opened her locker before she answered, "I was avoiding you-know-who."

Ino folded her arms and asked, "Who the hell is you-know-who?"

"You know who!"

"No, I don't know!"

Tenten looked at Ino and narrowed her eyes. "I'm hiding from Neji," she whispered.

As the started walking to their class, Ino asked, "And why are hiding from Neji?"

Tenten shushed her again for the second time. "Stop talking so loud!" she said and she added when Ino looked affronted, "Sorry Ino, but could you keep it down an octave."

"Fine," Ino huffed, "but tell me what else did you do to that dude?"

They entered their class just as Shizune-sensei was handing out samples of food and apparatus. Tenten dropped her bag and said, "I, um, had a run in with him after school yesterday and I dropped my keys…"

"Wait a sec," Ino interjected, "You lost your apartment keys!"

"Yes, but I got it back," Tenten whispered.

The girls opened their text books as their teacher started the lesson. "So how'd you get it back?" Tenten didn't answer but just looked at her as if her eyes contained the answer. Ino tilted her head to the left and when her friends words finally sunk in, she opened her mouth in a round 'o'.

She pressed her hand to her mouth and said through her fingers, "No way! No _freaking_ way!" Tenten nodded and she continued, "Ten, he knows where you work!"

"I know," Tenten mumbled.

"There's no way you could avoid him now!"

"I know."

Ino gasped and Tenten was then forced to look at her. Ino waggled her hand frantically at her friend and said, "What if he knows where you live?"

Tenten burst into a giggling fit, causing Ino to do the same. "You make it sound like he's a stalker or a serial killer or something," Tenten said grinning.

Their laughter died down and Tenten sighed, "Now I have to thank him for returning my keys."

Ino nodded in agreement. "Yeah, but the real question is _how _are you going to talk to him." She sat up straight and looked at her friend.

Tenten looked up from her book and saw Ino's expression. "Oh no," she said and Ino cocked an eyebrow. "Oh hell no!"

"You want me to go up to him and say thank you? Are you nuts?"

"Ok fine Miss Genius, then you tell me; how on earth are you going to thank him?"

Tenten thought for a minute and said, "I'll leave him a note in his locker."

Ino guffawed and replied, "That is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard! The only time a girl leaves notes for a guy, is if she has a crush on him, which is what you don't have." There was a clanging noise; Tenten dropped her scapula. She ducked under the work table while muttering apologies to anyone in the vicinity who was disturbed. When she emerged, her face was pink.

"I am not crushing on Neji," she said defiantly.

"Oh really?" asked Ino disbelievingly.

"Really."

"You keep fooling yourself Ten, 'cause your face says differently," Ino said just as the bell rung. They grabbed their school bags and exited the lab. Tenten's face was still sporting a pinkish tinge

"I'll see you at lunch, Ino," called Tenten over the noise in the corridors.

"Yeah. Hey Ten?"

"Yeah?"

"What did we do in Bio?"

_Dear Neji,_

She crossed it out thinking that it's too formal. She started again.

_Neji Hyuga,_

_Ok, that's sounds like a death note_, she thought crossing it out.

Tenten sat in second period History, trying to write the 'thank you' note for Neji. She chewed on the end of her pencil as she started again on a fresh piece of paper.

_Hi Neji,_ she wrote but then immediately erased it since they were not on friendly terms. She was only half-listen to Kurenai-sensei drone on about the dynasties of feudal lords in the Fire country; something she had already studied at her old school.

She took a deep breath and covered the paper with her notebook, just in case her teacher walked around the class while teaching; something she likes to do a lot. Tenten absentmindedly started doodling in the corner or her page, while she was thinking of Neji and his mesmerizing eyes…

…and his long hair that she wanted to run her hands through.

Tenten shook her head and dropped her pencil. She rubbed her eyes and the fluttery feeling her stomach returned. _Ok, I have no idea why I was thinking that_, she thought.

She checked her watch and it was almost time for the bell to ring, so she sighed and pulled out the note and finally wrote something.

_Neji,_

_Thank you for returning my keys yesterday. I don't know what I would have done if I had lost them, so thanks. I also want to apologize for yesterday as well; it wasn't like me to overstep my boundaries._

_Tenten._

Tenten was the first person to arrive at her locker after fifth period, right before lunch break. She made up an excuse to get a free pass to leave class early and here she was, standing in front of the sophomore's locker, trying to figure out the best way to slip the note in.

She looked up and decided that the only way was for her to slip the note in through the double vent at the head of the door. She looked around hesitantly and shoved the note, _her_ note in, before anyone could see her. Satisfied that the note had reached its destination, she headed to the dining hall.

Sakura was already sitting at their usual spot, copying some last minute notes off of classmate who was sitting with her back turned towards her. She recognized the long black hair and greeted the girl warmly.

"Hey Hinata. Hey Sakura!" said the tomboy who immediately dropped into a chair next to Hinata.

"H-hell-o Tenten," greeted Hinata in her usual nervy voice while Sakura just called out the usual 'Hey Ten!'

Sakura closed the books and handed Hinata hers. "Thanks Hinata. I owe you big time."

"You're welcome," replied Hinata quietly.

Hinata shoved her book into her bag and Sakura said, "Hey Hinata do you want to have lunch with us."

Hinata's pretty lavender eyes, which was so much like her cousin's, (_Ok did I just say that Neji's eyes are pretty?_ Thought Tenten), widened as she looked from Tenten to Sakura. "I d-don't want-t to b-be a bother," stammered Hinata.

"Aw it's ok Hinata," I replied giving the girl a thump on the back, "You're free to have lunch with us."

She smiled and said, "Ok, then I'll have lunch with you."

Ino made her entrance five minutes later. She had to pass nearby to Karin and her cronies and Ino was the kind of person who never missed and opportunity to insult those girls. It just so happened that Karin was fuming when Ino was passing, so Ino stopped and said, "Karin, why don't you try to _not_ to grind your teeth so much, 'cause if you don't stop you might be mistaken for you grandma. And those wrinkles on your forehead don't help one bit," she added just for good measure.

"Can it dumbo," growled Karin.

"Me dumb?" asked Ino sarcastically. "Honey, I think you're misinformed," she continued as she leaned towards them saying, "FYI, red is the new blond."

Karin stabbed at her salad while shooting glances at another table behind Ino. "Wannabe fashionista, do me a favor and tell your friends that Hinata is our girl. They have no right to fraternizing with a Hyuga."

Ino spun around only to see Hinata Hyuga chatting away with her two best friends at their table. Ino smirked and turned back towards Karin.

"Lemme get this straight, four eyes," she said haughtily, "You want me to tell my friends that they can't be friends with Hinata. Look bitch, we can be friends with anyone we want and you all can't say one damn thing!" Karin stood up and cracked her knuckles, when Ino interrupted her, "Sit down Karin! You know you can't me one damn thing either!"

Karin snarled and tried to take a swipe at Ino with her acrylic nails, but Rin and Tayuya held her back. "No Karin, you'll get in trouble," cautioned Tayuya, while Rin nodded as Karin struggled against her confinements.

Ino snorted at the girls. As she walked away she called over her shoulder, while pointing to the frown lines on Karin's forehead, "Oh yeah, Karin? One word sweetie – Botox!"

Ino cackled as Karin sprung up once more, making swiping motions with her acrylic claws. She was still grinning as she approached her friends and sat down. Talk immediately ceased and all three girls frowned at Ino, who gestured to Karin and her crew.

Hinata, Sakura and Tenten turned in their seats to look at the girls properly. Sakura and Tenten promptly started laughing, when they saw Karin checking her forehead while muttering curse words and, of course, 'botox'. Even Hinata allowed herself a small smile, when Ino replayed the conversation.

"Hinata, chic," said Ino, "I don't know what anyone told you but we have no problem if you want to eat with us. You know normal people."

Hinata nodded and looked at all three of us. "I'd like that," she said.

And for the first time, she actually felt comfortable at the new school.

For the rest of the day, Tenten avoided lingering at her locker, even though she was a bit worried if Neji read the note. She cornered Sakura and Ino after school to fill them in, since she couldn't tell them anything as the person in question's cousin was sitting with them. They both advised the tomboy to wait; if Neji had anything to tell her, she would find out soon enough.

But could she wait for a response?


	5. The Secrets that friends keep

Chapter 4:

_**The Secrets that friends keep.**_

"_Secrets are things we give to others to keep for us._"

For the rest of the week, things at Konoha High progressed like usual. Tenten went to her classes with her friends. They ate at their table and copied notes and homework of each other between mouthfuls; or should I say that Ino and, shockingly, the usually adept Tenten was copying off of Sakura and Hinata. But what really bothered her was the fact that she found herself daydreaming and doodling in her book a little too often. During physics, Genma-sensei had to repeat himself when he asked Tenten to recite Ohm's law. Luckily she knew that one having studied it the night before. But what surprised her was when he lifted her book and sighed, "Miss Tenten now is not time for you to be daydreaming about your boyfriend."

Tenten's face looked as though she could give a tomato competition in red pigment coloration as her classmates chuckled around her. With a sigh Genma returned her notebook and, to her dismay, among the acres of pencil-drawn hearts, there, scrawled across the page was the name Neji Hyuga, with hearts replacing the dots above the 'j' and 'i' in his first name. Not only was she now mortified that her teacher, a _male_ teacher, had seen that, a small part of brain was registering that she might just have a crush on the sophomore. This left her in a bigger dilemma – she was starting to doubt whether her method of apologizing to Neji was ok.

When Tenten went to bed Thursday night, she was convinced that leaving the note in Neji's locker was the best thing. But when she woke up at 5 am to exercise the next morning, the only thing that was running through her mind was 'What the hell did I do?" While jogging through the park in her old sweats, she chewed over her decision finally coming to a conclusion, that this time she had really screwed up. Big time!

She broke into a run, crossing the stone bridge over the Niigata River and taking the familiar path on her right, subconsciously, which led to a secluded lake which she discovered was called the Aoi Yuri Lake. Even though it was morning, the sky was still a deep blue and stars were almost invisible as the sky became brighter. The path Tenten took was entirely isolated. The thick brambles and eerie silence of the early morning would creep out most people, but not her. To Tenten, the silence of daybreak allowed her to clear her head and to concentrate on what was really important to her – passing her exams, her friends and keeping in shape for tryouts which were to take place during P.E. on Friday.

She closed her eyes and inhaled the fresh cool air as she continued to run along the trail, concentrating on the rhythm of her breathing, her steadily building heart rate and her synchronized footfalls. She wove her way through the lightly forested area, unknowingly narrowly missing tree trunks. She lost herself in her thoughts, which, eventually ended up returning to a certain long haired sophomore boy, who had recently started invading not only her consciousness, but also her dreams.

Her mind kept replaying their first meeting, putting most emphasis on his voice, his oh-so sultry voice, his critical eyes and lastly on his. _His Hair! Oh lord his hair!_ thought Tenten languorously, as she continued down the path.

_The long, dark silky strands that framed his face; a face worthy of a Greek God! When he spun around to walk away, his loose hair flayed around him, almost model-like. I reached out to touch the strands to beg him to stay. My finger tips barely touching his hair…_

BAM!

* * *

"Tenten! Are you alright? Please answer me!"

The brown-haired tomboy stirred. She clenched her hands into fists, her fingers grazing the soft, dewy grass. Then head, both front and back, started to throb painfully.

"Ten! Are you hurt?" the person asked again. Tenten opened her eyes slowly only to see stars, swirling in front of her brown irises. She groaned in pain placed her palms flat on the woodland ground and pushed herself into a sitting position, wincing. A pair of soft careful hands guided her upright from her shoulder blades. Tenten's eyes came back into focus when she realized who it was.

"Hinata? What the hell are you doing out here all by yourself?" Tenten winced again and scratched the back of her head. "And why was I on the ground?"

Hinata sat in front of her friend with her legs and arms folded. Her expression was a mixture of annoyance, concern and amusement. "Ten, you just ricocheted off that tree trunk, going at 30 km/h and fell flat on your back!"

"Oh," said Tenten lamely, as she prodded the growing lump on her forehead. "I didn't see that tree."

"How could you not see a tree _that_ big?" she scolded.

Tenten grinned sheepishly and answered, "Well, I was, um, running with my eyes closed…"

Hinata's lavender eyes widened with shock and then they narrowed on Tenten. "Running with your eyes closed? Geez Ten, what other crazy thing are you going to do next!"

Tenten chuckled at Hinata's exasperation and made her way to stand. "Well you know me Hinata," she said dusting herself off, "I do a lot of crazy stuff." She turned towards the tree and examined it with her hands. "Oh my God! Did I just dent the tree?" Shaking her head, she turned away from Hinata and looked at the horizon.

Hinata stood and leaned on the tree in question and just smiled. "Yes you do. Like slipping an apology/thank you note into my cousin's locker, for instance."

Tenten's grin turned into a frown. She turned to face Hinata and asked, "How the hell do you know about that?"

"Well Ino does have a big mouth…"

"Typical Ino," Tenten muttered and turned slightly away from the Hyuga and scuffed her battered, disintegrating, running sneakers on the course gravel.

"…and I saw the note on Neji's study desk."

"What?" shrieked Tenten. Her voice frightened a couple of birds causing the branches overhead to ruffle, releasing a fine shower of dew. "You read it?"

"No," replied Hinata slowly, "but if it makes you feel any better, Neji definitely read it."

Tenten covered her face with her hands. "Oh Kami," she muttered.

Hinata pulled her hands away from her face and led her to one of the many benches along trail. They sat in silence for a few minutes and then Tenten said, "So Ino told you huh?" asked Tenten, defiantly ignoring the million dollar question.

"Yes, she did. She said that she didn't want me to be left out of all the fun."

"Hinata I'm really sorry that I didn't tell you. It's just you're…"

"…Neji's cousin? It's ok," she responded, genuinely. Some more silence fell onto them and then Hinata broke it by asking tentatively, "So do you want to know what his reaction was?"

"Yes!"

"Well he doesn't really tell me anything about his personal life, but since Tuesday afternoon, he was smiling! I mean actually smiling," she said with great emphasis, since Neji wasn't someone to show outward emotion. "Everyone at home was scared like hell when they saw him and that freaky smirk on his face. Even my father had the audacity to ask nii-san if he was feeling alright."

"Oh, great," mumbled Tenten. She propped head with hands and continued, "He was laughing at my thank you note."

"Actually I don't think he was laughing at the note, Ten. He was probably admiring your guts."

"Huh?"

"No one has ever dared to go near Neji. Correction: No one has ever dared to _breathe_ in his direction or stay within a 10 foot radius from him."

"So Hyuga, why on Kami's green earth are you out here by yourself?"

"Well jogging obviously," she replied gesturing to her brand name track suit and sneakers. "I mean, not only the athlete has to keep in shape you know!"

Tenten smiled at the comment and looked away. Silence broke over them again as the sky had finally gained a pinkish tinge from the east. There was a question that was gnawing at Tenten's throat since the first time she met Hinata and Neji. The brown haired girl turned towards her friend and asked, "Hinata, why do you call Neji 'big brother'? Isn't he your cousin?"

Hinata sighed and replied, "Neji's father and my father are twin brothers. When Neji was four, a business deal went bad for my uncle Hizashi, and there was hit on him and his immediate family. So my clan decided that it was time for Neji and his parent to leave the country for good. But two hours after they had left for the Wind Country, my father received a phone call saying that their car had been blown up. Neji's parents died leaving Neji parentless and in a coma for a month." Hinata sighed sadly and added, "He wasn't even conscious for his parents' funeral. So Neji was adopted by my parents and, since he _is_ older than me, it's only out of respect that I call him nii-san."

"But no offense, Hinata, he doesn't really treat you with too much respect."

"Well, I'm not really fussed that he doesn't show his affection to me or other members of our family in public. But he does respect us, which is the most important thing, even though it's not prevalent when we cross paths at school, which isn't often."

Tenten nodded. "I guess his childhood was no bed of roses huh? He's just like me after all," she muttered to herself, but Hinata heard her.

She frowned. "What do you mean Ten?"

Tenten brown eyes focused on the lake's water while she spoke. "I grew up in an orphanage. I never knew my parents nor was I adopted. So I sort of grew up on my own, you know, becoming an athlete and studying as hard as I could so I could make something of myself…"

She interjected, "But that doesn't make any sense! You always act as though you have a family around everyone at school! Why do you lie to everyone; to your friends?"

Tenten stood up and whispered, while looking at the barely visible sun, "All my life I have been treated like a nobody. It is because of my family history; or should I say 'lack there of', that I was patronized by my peers at my old school and teachers alike. I had to fight for a place at Konoha High. I had to win a government sponsored scholarship to attend High school."

The wind rustled through the trees as Hinata stood. She took hold of both of Tenten's hands and said, "And you did it Ten. You have fought and you have won. You may not be the most popular girl in school, but me and Ino and Sakura love you for you and you shouldn't have hide from us."

Tenten squeezed her friend's hands with her own and brown eyes met lavender ones. "You're right chic. I should have been more honest with you guys, but for the time being it's my call to reveal my secrets and I would really appreciate if you don't tell anyone right now. Please?"

Hinata smiled and nodded. "I won't tell a soul. Besides it's not my secret to tell."

The sun finally came up and sunrays were beaming down on the friends, as if to tell them that it was time to go their separate ways.

"I guess we should go," stated Hinata.

"Yeah we should," agreed Tenten and they started taking their separate paths along the trail.

"Hey Ten!"

Tenten spun around and called back, "Yeah?"

"That stuff I told you about Neji; you will keep that secret won't you?"

Tenten smiled and replied, "Well, it isn't my secret to share is it?"

* * *

Telling Hinata everything, Tenten realized, was the best thing she had ever done. The lavender eyed girl kept her promise and only spoke to Tenten about her life outside school in the absence of Ino and Sakura.

The bell rang for lunch, and after cramming their books in their lockers, Hinata and Tenten entered the dining hall and made their way to their usual spot. Ino and Sakura were already there and busily chatting away about the latest gossip when Hinata and Tenten dropped into their seats.

"So Ten, you ready for this afternoon?" asked Ino as she slurped on her ramen.

Tenten, who was taking a large gulp of orange juice, spat it out in surprised. "Oh crap! I totally forgot to sign up!" she said with a horrified expression.

She dropped her chopsticks onto her plate and started hunting through her bag for a pen.

"Girl the sign up sheet was up for two damn weeks now," scolded Ino. "What the hell were you waiting for?"

Tenten zipped her bag closed and shrugged. "I was making sure I was in shape that's all," she responded and catapulted off of her seat and ran at top speed out of the hall after hollering 'Gimme a sec" over her shoulder.

She felt like a car driving at 120 km/h on the wrong lane as she rushed through the hordes of students. The sign up sheet was pinned to the notice board close to the sophomore homerooms. She breathed a sigh of relief since their PE teacher Gai-sensei hadn't taken it down yet, so without further ado, she uncovered her felt pen and scribbled her name under the freshman list.

Back in the dining hall, the Chancellor Tsunade was addressing the students over the intercom.

"_All students wishing to tryout for both junior and senior soccer teams are to report to the gymnasium directly after lunch, where you will be given further instructions. Good afternoon students and enjoy you lunch!_"

The noise level returned to normal and Tenten then fixated her attention to her half-finished beef stir-fry. _Hm, I wonder what their going to talk to us about,_ she thought. _Probably to give us the procedure in training dynamics and…_

"Earth to Tenten, earth to Tenten. Come in pro soccer player Tenten," said Sakura.

Tenten looked up and saw three pairs of eyes staring at her critically. "Sorry. I just zoned out a bit."

"Yeah figured as much," responded Ino.

"D'you think you can make the team?" asked Hinata.

"Let's hope so," said Tenten, as she stabbed at her vegetables and beef with her chopstick making a shish kebab.

"Don't worry Ten. We have faith in you and your skills," Sakura assured her, while Ino and Hinata nodded in agreement.

Tenten smiled and said 'Thanks guys' just as the bell rang.

* * *

The gymnasium was one of the largest structures in the entire school. It is so large that it had a complete block for itself. Well it had to be if it were to house hundreds of students taking part in a variety of indoor sports.

Standing on the podium was Chancellor Tsunade and Gai-sensei. There were about three hundred male and female pupils, from freshmen to seniors, present in the gym. Some of them, in Tenten's opinion, would definitely make the cut; others, not so much. She only could have recognized a few faces, like Rock Lee, an extremely hyperactive boy in her math class with the stamina of twenty race horses and two of the 'elites' in her year – the very hot but sullen Sasuke Uchiha and the blond Naruto Uzumaki, who could probably rival Rock Lee endurance. But the contrast between both boys puzzled Tenten a lot since they were best friends.

Gai-sensei called for the students' attention. "Good afternoon students. You have all chosen, at your own risk, to become a soccer player and to represent this school, which has been victorious at both junior and senior levels and at all nationwide events for the past ten years."

There were a couple of mutters here and there, but Tenten took no notice of them. This is what she was waiting for – a school that takes her abilities in sports seriously – and she was not going to get side tracked or lose out on the opportunity to show them what she's really made of.

The P.E. master continued, "During Tryouts, which will start at 3 pm sharp, you will all have to go through the preliminary rounds that test you speed, endurance and how you handle the ball. Only twenty one students from each year group will be able to continue on to the next stage and this is where I will be placing you in groups of three to see how well you coordinate with each other as a team. I am not gender biased, so you will be seeing a group of three where there might be two boys and a girl or two girls and a boy. Similarly, there will be groups comprising of all girls or all boys and we will have three on three matches to decide who will be placed on their respective teams."

_So girls against boys, huh_? Tenten thought. _This is going to be more interesting than I thought._

But a lot of girls didn't think so. Gai-sensei heard the outraged outbursts amongst the girls and the snorting noises the boys were making, and held up his hand in protest. "The only way the girls' teams can be winners, would only be if they can't play against boys and _beat them_. If anyone has a problem with how we at Konoha High choose our teams, then you are free to back down." No one moved. No one even made a sound. So he continued, "Good. I expect you all back here at 3 pm sharp. No late attendees are allowed to tryout. So are there any questions?" His question was only met by silence. "Good then," he said rubbing his hands together, "You're all dismissed!"

* * *

At 2:50 pm, Tenten was in the girls' locker room trading her blazer, skirt and buckled-shoe for her soccer boots, shorts and old school's team jersey with the number 9 on her back. She let her twin buns down and made one long plait with her wavy brown hair. She walked out into the gymnasium where most of the hopefuls were already stretching or chatting with their friend.

Tenten dropped her duffle on the benches and started to warm up with hamstring stretches and a series of squats. A fine film of sweat was starting to build on her forehead when a whistle blew. Gai-sensei beckoned the students to him and as Tenten neared she heard a ripple of laughter. As she neared she realized what it was – Gai-sensei was wearing a bright green body suit that showed quite clearly his contours… not to mention his _assets_. Tenten bowed her head and tried to suppress her own laughs.

His thick eyebrows contracted together and he spoke, "So you think you all can make fun of the Green Beast of Konoha!" Tenten and some other students burst out laughing.

"Everyone, make ten laps around the gym, now!" he commanded. And as all three hundred students fell into the line, he snarled at them, "Let's see whose laughing after I'm through with all of you."

Even at that stage people started dropping out. After about the fifth lap, there was only about three-quarters of the students left and Gai-sensei made the remaining athletes pick up speed. This was definitely a test of their stamina, and Tenten was very thankful for the early morning runs. Afterwards they had to do pushups, crunches and squats. Again a great number of students had to quit. But not the brown haired tomboy! She bore through all of the muscle fatigue and when Might Gai finally blew his whistle she was one of the final 96 to move on to the team dynamics challenge.

"Congratulations to all of you!" he said while addressing the remaining 96. "You have just completed Phase one and I would like all of you to please wait while we place you in groups of threes for phase two."

The group dispersed and Tenten was immediately bombarded by Ino, Sakura and Hinata.

"You did it Ten, you did it!" shrieked Sakura as they enveloped her in a group hug.

"Of course she did it," said Ino. "This is exactly what she was training for."

"Yep, and we have faith that you will make it to the next round," added Hinata with a smile.

"Thanks you guys," said Tenten breathlessly. She immediately noticed her slackened laces and bent to fix them. When she straightened back up, Sakura had her small towel and Hinata, her water bottle.

"I thought you all went home," said Tenten, as she wiped her forehead and neck with the towel.

"Yeah, well Hinata had the idea to hide under the bleachers during the tryouts," said Sakura. Tenten took a swig of water and after one big gulp, she repeated, "Thanks guys. Thanks a million for begin here."

"It was no problem," replied Hinata and Sakura nodded in agreement. "Right Ino?"

"Uh yeah it wasn't."

Ino was only half listening to their exchange. She much more immersed in staring at someone over Tenten's shoulder.

"Don't look now Ten," she said with a smirk. "Your practice session just got really interesting."

"What are you…" Tenten spun around and looked at the screen where the groups were shown.

"Oh my God," gasped Tenten while Hinata gasped right along with her and Sakura's jaw dropped.

"Well you have all seen your teammates," said Gai-sensei, "for the junior teams – there are two freshmen and a sophomore, who will be team leader and for the senior teams – there are two juniors and a senior, who will also be acting as leader. Will all teams proceed to the filed outside immediately."

But Tenten didn't move. Her eyes were still fixated to the name of her team captain. The other freshman was Rock Lee and the sophomore and team captain was Neji Hyuga.

* * *

I'm so sorry for make you all wait. My computer was down for a month and i was going crazy like hell. So i made this chapter a bit longer to show you all how deeply sorry i really am and i hope you all like it!


	6. The Importance of Team Dynamics

Chapter 5

_**The Importance of Team Dynamics**_

"_When a team outgrows individual performance and learns team confidence, excellence becomes a reality.__"_

At this point in time, students had already found their teammates and had started exiting the gym while formulating their plans to win their matches. There was movement all around and leaving one person, standing still as though her feet were bolted to the floor and her eyes locked onto the screen.

"This cannot be happening," whispered Tenten feverishly.

"Yeah well it is Ten and you need to get a move on," said Sakura as she poked her shell-shocked friend in the ribs, gesturing to hordes of exiting students.

"I'm not going out there," she said adamantly.

"Yes you are!" said Ino, matter-of-factly.

"You have to go Ten," added Hinata. "If you don't try you won't forgive yourself."

The tall brunette turned to Hinata and said tersely, "Hinata why the hell didn't you tell me that _Neji_ was trying out for the team too?"

"Because I didn't know if he was going to continue playing soccer. Remember – he doesn't tell me anything! And besides, even if I _did _know, what were the odds that you would both end up on the same trial team?" Hinata snapped back in her own quiet manner.

"Well, Hinata, I guess the odds were very good," chuckled Ino, as she pushed Tenten away from them, in the direction of the exit.

"Guy's don't make me go out there!" said a mortified Tenten. Ino and Sakura were pushing on her back and, in response; Tenten planted her feet firmly onto the ground hoping the friction between the grips of her soles and the floor would prevent her from moving.

Hinata sighed and stood in front of her with both hands on her hips. "Ten, look at yourself! You're being ridiculous!" She motioned to Sakura and Ino to stop what they were doing and placed her hands on Tenten's shoulders. "Ten, look at me," she commanded, when Tenten was about to spin around and flog both Ino and Sakura.

Tenten's brown eyes met Hinata's lavender ones and Tenten shifted uncomfortably. The last time she stared into those eyes, the person they belonged too was regarding her critically.

"Are you really that afraid of Neji?" Hinata asked softly, causing Tenten to cast her eyes downward. When Tenten didn't answer, Hinata continued, "You can't keep avoiding him like this. Our school's not that small and both male and female junior teams train together." She gave Tenten a slight shake. "Are you really willing to give up something you really love just because of your own personal feelings?"

Tenten took a deep breath and responded, "You're right Hinata. I love soccer and I am going to make the team. And I am not going to let some stupid boy get in the way of that."

"Hear hear!" said Ino, enthusiastically.

"That's right!" added Sakura, smiling

Hinata just nodded with a smile and removed her hands from her best friend's shoulders. Tenten grabbed her duffle bag and started jogging towards the exit while calling "See ya later guys and wish me luck!" over her shoulder.

Hinata, Sakura and Ino followed soon after. _This is going to be interesting_, thought Hinata. _I wonder what Neji is going to tell her?_

* * *

Rock Lee was sweating profusely. He took a large gulp of water only having to cough it back out. He thumped his chest in an attempt to breathe when someone else started patting his back. He frowned and took a few shallow breaths as he noticed the person next to him was, in his opinion, the smartest and most beautiful girl in the entire freshman class. Heck, maybe the entire school!

"You'd want to take it easy there, Lee," advised Tenten as she retracted her hand and he straightened up.

"Yes, I was a bit too hasty Tenten-chan," responded Lee giving the girl a 1000 watt smile. "Did you see where Neji is? You know he was the captain of the junior team last year. And he was just a freshman! So we should get into our teams easy. I've read in the school's sports archives," he rambled, "that Neji is probably one of the best athletes in our school, excelling in soccer and tennis. But what he's really a pro in is Karate. He won gold at the games in summer in Kumo and he was the youngest in his category. I am very glad that we are both on the same team with Neji Hyuga. Aren't you Tenten-chan?"

Tenten blinked. _Great_, she thought, _Lee's a part of his fan club_. She stooped to alter her shin pads. "Uh, I guess so," she responded, "If you think someone who thinks he lives on Mount Olympus and the rest of us are mere mortals, then I'm perfectly happy being on the same team with him." She was speaking though gritted teeth and was grumbling under her breath at the reminder that she was also supposed to be at that tournament that she didn't notice a third party approach.

When she didn't hear any sound come out from Lee except a gasp, she spun to face him asking, "What is it Lee?"

"So you're in my team huh?"

Tenten went into shock mode. Neji was standing all the time while she was ranting. Marvelous! She quickly gained composure and answered without looking at him, "Yeah I guess I am." Rock Lee nodded enthusiastically.

Neji smirked and went into business mode. "Ok guys, phase 2 is about to start and since I've been through this already, I'll fill you in. There are 32 teams, 16 of which are our problem. They are the ones who stand between us and the starting line up. Gai-sensei and the women's team coach, Anko-sensei, will be monitoring each ten minute match. To win, we need to score."

"And if we don't?" asked Lee.

"Then the three man team with the high ball passion wins. If we win our first match, we automatically qualify. But if we lose, and I hope for God's sake that we don't, we have to go against one of the losing teams. This continues until there are eleven starting players and ten substitutes. In order for us to win, we need to play as a team," Neji paused and looked at Lee and then Tenten, lavender eyes meeting brown ones.

He continued by explaining the rules with his eyes lingering on Tenten periodically. Tenten was only half listening to what he was saying; she was more concerned with how he was looking at her. And it was making her uncomfortable as hell.

Gai-sensei blew his whistle again and signaled for a team member to choose a number from 1 to 16.

"Lee, would you mind picking one for us?" asked Neji, in his usual quiet sultry voice that, for a minute, caught Tenten of guard, making her swoon inwardly.

"I'm on it!" saluted the eccentric youth and he sprinted away, leaving Tenten and Neji in an awkward silence, as they followed Lee to the stands.

Tenten sighed and starting whistling through her teeth as if to distract herself from drooling over Neji, who she thought was looking extra fine today. She stopped whistling when it wasn't working, and started chanting in her head.

_I will not pay any attention to him! I will not pay any attention to him! I will not…_

"Tenten?"

His voice, saying her name, pierced her thoughts. _Damn it, _she muttered to herself. She gritted her teeth and answered, "Yes?"

"I just wanted to say that…" he started but was cut off when Lee suddenly appeared with our number.

"Hey guys! It looks like we're up first. We're team four!" Lee exclaimed as he showed us the card. "Gai-sensei said that we have to report to pitch right now."

Both Tenten and Neji nodded and walked to the field in complete silence; whatever Neji was going to say to Tenten would have to wait. At the pitch, the first 4 teams were going through their paces and taking the field. Tenten pulled up her socks and adjusted her shin pads one last time before she took the field after Lee and Neji.

"Lee your job is to man the goal and stay in defense position," said Neji and Lee saluted one last time before he sprinted off to our goal. Neji took the ball and jogged towards the half way mark, while beckoning to Tenten to follow. At the half way line he said, "Tenten, play the wings and centre forward, interchangeably." Tenten nodded in reply and trotted to the opposite end to the pitch, taking her initial position as centre forward.

Might Gai blew his whistle and Neji immediately took possession of the ball. He sprinted down the right side of the field as the students in the stands started to scream their support. Tenten ran adjacently to her team leader and was signaling for him to pass to her since she was open. When Neji didn't pass the ball, she shouted, "Neji! Pass man!" But Neji didn't pass; he proceeded to shoot the ball, trying to get it into the goal at an unpractical angle. Tenten crossed her fingers, but to her dismay, the ball ricocheted of the goal post and one of the opposition got in control of the ball.

Tenten ran back to her starting position while Neji ran back to the midfield and tackled the other sophomore, who skillfully avoided and took a shot which Lee saved. Neji retained the ball and this time took the left side of field. _This is my chance_, she thought as Neji neared, but instead of passing to her again, he took another shot at the goal, which he missed, again.

Tenten ran up to him shouting, "Neji, why didn't you pass?"

Neji paused and said, "Look stay out of my way will you!" Tenten's jaw dropped as he left her staring after him in disbelief.

And for the rest of the match was similar to the first few minutes. Tenten didn't even touch the ball and, to top it all off, they had lost; the other team had 60% ball possession.

Tenten stomped of the field towards the part of the stand where her friends were sitting. As she approached, they cringed when they saw her fuming expression. She dug into her bag for her water bottle and tore the cover off.

"Ten, what on earth happened out there?" asked Hinata tentatively.

Tenten didn't answer immediately but when she did all three girls took a step back. "That son of a bitch didn't even pass me the freaking ball! And I was open!" she shrieked and she flung her bottle on the ground harshly.

"Ten calm down," said Sakura, placing a hand on her shoulder in an attempt to pacify her.

"No I am not going to calm down!" the furious girl replied, shrugging off Sakura's hand. "Do you guys know how many goals we would've scored if he was using his brain and not his freaking ego?" she continued to rant. She took a couple of deep breaths and said, while still shaking in anger, "If we had won that match, I would have automatically been in the starting line up. But no! We have to play _another _match to qualify and that's only if we win."

Tenten sat down and started taking out her frustration on the spikes on her boots. "He told me to keep out of his way," she grumbled, "It's as if I'm the one who'll keep us back."

Hinata crouched in front of the brown haired tomboy and asked, "Is that what he said?"

Tenten raised her head and looked Hinata square in the face. "Yeah, chic, that's _exactly _what he said." Tenten sighed and continued to retie her laces. If it was any other guy, she would have brushed it off or, if he was really arrogant, she would definitely punch him in the face. But this was Neji; the boy who was plaguing her thoughts and dreams. _The boy I have a major crush on_, she finally admitted to herself, and with that declared, Tenten's large brown eyes filled with tears.

Even with her head bowed, she could not prevent them from escaping. Two large drops skated down her face and she tried her best to wipe them away as discretely as possible so that her best friends wouldn't notice. But Ino's sharp cerulean did. She sat next to their athletic friend and tugged on her sleeve to get her attention.

"Tenten, look at me," she commanded.

Tenten uncrossed her legs, stamping her foot on the ground and looked at Ino stubbornly. "Look, we all know how you feel about Neji, but this is your time and you can't let him dictate your game," said Ino.

"Besides," said Sakura, taking her seat on Tenten's other side, "you still have another match to play. So you have another chance."

"And you will make it this time," added Hinata.

Tenten wiped her face and took a deep breath. "I have another chance to prove myself," she said as Gai-sensei called to second round hopefuls to choose the next match-ups. After saying goodbye to her friends, she stalked back over to her team mates thinking to herself, _if Neji wants to play hardball, then so be it. He so picked the wrong girl to mess with!_

* * *

If there was one person who truly pissed of Neji that day, it was Tenten. When their second match started, Tenten was totally convinced to mess the Hyuga boy up big time. She had made up her mind that if Neji was going to make sure that she doesn't pass this phase, she was going to take him down with her. _To hell with the crush! This is war!_

Their second match was against Sasuke, Naruto and their sophomore team leader. The opposing team leader was a better midfielder than Neji, and whenever he won the ball, he passed to Sasuke and Naruto, interchangeably. Naruto was Tenten's target, since he was playing defense; and a weak one as well. She was also able to tackle the ball away from Sasuke and ran the length of the field in an attempt to score completely ignoring Neji.

She dodged Naruto down the field and headed to the open goal, completely certain that they will win as soon as she placed the ball in the upper right hand corner. From the corner of her eye she had glimpsed Gai-sensei nodding at her and writing on his clipboard.

_Yes_, she thought smugly, _I'm in!_ But her smile was instantly wiped off of her face when a solid body rammed into her knocking her off her feet. She skated a few yards on impact; her body banged into the ground causing her to bruise all over. She cried out in anguish and opened her eyes slightly only to realize who had done that to her. It was Neji.

It was all a ploy. Neji tried to get the ball away from her and to score so he could get all the damn glory. Tenten snarled. She tried to stand but cried out again when she felt the sharp pain in her knee, which was rapidly swelling.

She pushed herself off the ground and limped towards the boys, from both teams, who were standing talking to Gai-sensei for his assessment of the match.

"Hey Neji!" she called a few yards behind him.

He turned to face her. "What is it?" he asked arrogantly.

But Tenten didn't answer. All she wanted to do most in the worlds was to wipe that smirk from his face… and she did. She sauntered over, and sent one of her tightly balled fists to his face. She decided that she wouldn't like anything more that to break his nose, but in her fit of anger she momentarily forgot that Neji was a skilled martial artist, just like herself and was fleetingly shocked when he dodged her punch.

But that didn't deter her. She continued to throw punches and jabs at random parts of his body and, when he realized she meant business, Neji had stopped blocking and stared adding punches of his own. The fighting became so serious that the students who were seating in the stands and the soccer players all formed a crowed around the brawl.

* * *

Gai-sensei and Anko Mitarashi pushed their way through the throng of students who were egging on the fighters who, they realized, were Neji Hyuga and Tenten. He had somehow anticipated this to happen ever since Neji lost his temper and injured Tenten and he warned the boy against losing his temper like that before, on many occasion. And here he was; fighting a girl!

He was already going through his dialogue with the Chancellor. _I'm sorry Chancellor Tsunade. I had turned by back for a second and this is what happened_, he thought and grimaced at the thought that he might be suspended from teaching because of his inept ways of monitoring students of the field. He was ready to receive a thoroughly beaten girl to the nurse's office and to escort Neji to the Chancellor's office. But he wasn't ready for was the sight before him; Neji and Tenten squaring off as equals. He marveled at the girl's stance and the way she intelligently fought and was so mesmerized that he didn't notice that Chancellor Tsunade had arrived.

* * *

Tenten narrowly dodged his carefully placed gentle-fist palm strikes and had finally understood how he won gold at the Inter-country tournament last month. But she still pushed herself, determined to kick his ass. She blocked his roundhouse kick to her head and countered with one of her own. She raised her right leg, bending it in position, ignoring the infuriating pain in her protesting knee and kicked out at Neji's face. The long haired boy didn't move away in time and the metal spikes on her soccer shoes came in contact with his face, slicing a serious of cuts across his left cheek and burst his lower lip.

Neji staggered backwards and wiped the thin lines of blood from his starkly white face. He looked from his crimson palm to the girl before him, half frowning and half shocked. Tenten's knee finally gave way and she fell on the grass below her, holding her right knee, hissing in pain. Neji wiped his hand on his shorts and was walking towards Tenten but was pulled back by Gai-sensei, who immediately held him in a half-nelson. The students around immediately fell into silence and dispersed, running haphazardly away from the scene at the sight of Chancellor Tsunade. When she stalked closer, Tenten finally understood why everyone had decided to disappear; the expression on Tsunade's face was contorted with rage.

"What the _hell_ is going on here?" she asked, her voice having a dangerous undertone. She looked at Gai to a struggling Neji and then to Tenten on the ground.

"Shizune! Get Miss Tenten to the Nurse's office now!" she screeched at the biology teacher.

"Yes ma'am," she replied and hurried over to Tenten. She pulled Tenten to her feet and told her to take the weight off of her right leg.

As she was walking away, the Chancellor of the school gave Gai instructions to take Neji to the Nurse's office, as well, to put some antiseptics on his facial cuts.

"And I want you _both_ in my office in half an hour and I don't give a damn how late it is!" she called to them as they headed back to school.


	7. Confrontation

Chapter 6

_**Confrontation**_

"_In life we make progress by conflict and in mental life by argument and disputation... There must be __confrontation__ and opposition, in order that sparks must be kindled."_

_Christopher Hitchens _

Nurse Akiko was usually a friendly lady towards everyone at school, but this was not the side Tenten was seeing in the Nurse's office. She couldn't really blame the lady, though; it was already 5:30 pm and Chancellor Tsunade had to hold her back from going home because of two teenagers who just didn't know how to obey the rules and let bygones be bygones.

"I don't believe either of you," she grumbled as she slapped an ice bag onto Tenten's swollen, blue-black knee, causing the girl to let out a hiss and tried to remove the bag from her skin. Nurse Akiko slapped away her hand and scolded, "Leave it right there, Miss Tenten. If it doesn't go down your knee will stay like that. And what are you smirking about Mr. Hyuga," she said turning to Neji, who apparently thought Tenten's anguish was funny. The Nurse walked over to Neji and started to dabbing rubbing alcohol onto his face and lip. He jerked away when he felt the stinging sensation, but the nurse held his head in position while she continued the onslaught on his face.

"You should be ashamed Mr. Hyuga. Fighting a girl! You should be ashamed of yourself. Why, in my day boys would kill to open doors for pretty girls like Miss Tenten. But no! You have to make sure that she can't use her leg anymore." Tenten made a startled noise, causing Nurse Akiko to go on the defensive. "Now, now, you don't go taking me seriously, my dear." The matron strolled over to the girl perched on the cot and examined her knee. "It's just a sprained knee, but I have to admit that you'll have to use crutches for the next couple of days, and no soccer practice for the next week. But I have to say, because of both of your outrageous behaviors; I'll be quite surprised if the Chancellor allowed you both to actually _be_ on the team!"

The clock in the entrance hall struck six times to indicate the hour. Nurse Akiko pulled off her latex gloves and flung them, and the soiled cotton balls she used to clean Neji's cuts, into the bin. "I'll be right back," she said and she left, leaving Tenten exposed to the most awkward silence with a guy she was crushing on, but now wanting to pull out all of his long hair.

She looked at Neji from the corner of her eye but he was busy poking at his fresh wounds. She then shifted her attention to her knee, to the ice bag on it and the extremely numb hand holding it in place. The freezing feeling was easing the throbbing in her joint but if she didn't switch hands she would probably lose circulation and all feeling in her right hand. And sure enough her reflexes were so oblivious that the ice bag slipped out of her hand and onto the floor. She groaned in both frustration and discomfort as she made her way to slip off the bed and retrieve the bag, but Neji beat her to it.

Neji wrapped it in his wash rag, which he was using to dab at his bleeding lip, and placed the bundle onto Tenten's knee, holding it into placed. Tenten was totally shocked and frowned at the Hyuga boy, who was trying to avoid her eyes.

"I don't understand you Neji," she said softly, "one minute you want to beat the crap outta me and the next your helping me."

"Yes, well, it could have been a lot worse," he said, examining her knee while Tenten gave him a scandalous look.

Tenten snorted and looked outside the opposite wall. "I guess you're not very good at apologies, huh?"

"Apology?" he asked incredulously. "I owe _you_ an apology?"

"Yeah you do!"

"If it wasn't for _you_ we wouldn't have still been in school after dark waiting for Tsunade to put us in detention," he argued.

"And if it wasn't for_ you_ I wouldn't have started the fight," she countered.

"Oh really? Who the hell gave me these?" he asked, gesturing to the marks on his left cheek and bottom lip.

"I was only retaliating to the person who damaged my knee so badly that I'm out of commission for a whole damn week! Probably longer!" she quarreled back, kicking out her injured leg only causing her to hiss in pain.

Neji grabbed her calf and chastised her. "Stop shaking your leg! It'll hurt more," he said shifting the icepack to another part of her joint.

Tenten scoffed at him. "Stop sounding as though you care 'cause you don't." She reached to shove Neji's hand away and grab the icepack, but he grabbed her wrist. He looked up and, for the first time, Tenten saw something she had never seen in the depths of his lavender eyes. He looked at her with compassion and remorse and the fluttery feeling she usually felt, that had momentarily disappeared during tryouts, had returned when his eyes bore into her own.

Tenten blinked rapidly and tried to look away, but his gaze had somehow held onto hers by an invisible thread that could only be broken when he looked away. "I'm very sorry that I hurt you Tenten," he said. "I'm not very good at apologies but I've been in the limelight for so long, I've forgotten how to give someone else a chance to succeed. But I have seen how you play and you are truly a remarkable person Tenten." He smirked and looked down at my knee, braking eye contact with her.

"Not many people would have the guts to leave a note in my locker," he added.

Tenten's jaw dropped. She had briefly forgotten that small fact and suddenly she was wishing that he had never brought it up. Or rather she had never written it in the first place.

"You got my note?" asked a mortified Tenten. He voice had somehow become hoarse and her ears were starting to gain a pinkish hue.

Neji looked up and cocked an eyebrow at Tenten's expression. "Uh, of course I did," he said. "What's wrong?"

"It's n-n-nothing," Tenten started to stammer sounding ridiculously like Hinata. "I was just wondering…"

"Wondering what?" Neji asked trying to nudge Tenten's words out. He was looking at her, square in the face and suddenly Neji Hyuga did something that no one had ever seen him do; Neji laughed. It was scandalous like Ino's and Sakura's. Neither was it similar to Hinata's, which was a nervous chuckle. It was _nice_ and natural and it was at that moment Tenten had just met the _real_ Neji Hyuga – the one that was concealed by the cold, stern exterior that instilled fear in everyone at Konoha High.

Tenten managed to crack a small, uncertain smile. "So you're laughing at me now, aren't you Hyuga?

Neji smiled back and tucked a loosed strand of brown hair behind her ear. He changed the hand he was holding the icepack with and placed a cool hand on her warm cheek. "I'm not laughing at you Ten," he said. His eyes roamed over her facial features while his thumb lightly rubbed over her cheekbone. "You're welcome, by the way," he continued after a few moments.

Tenten sighed and closed her eyes, relishing in his touch. "I owe you Neji," she whispered.

She felt his hand leave her face and reopened her eyes to see his hand outstretched. "I'll keep you up to it then. Deal?"

Tenten grinned and shook his hand. "Deal!"

"You can both leave you know."

Neji and Tenten dropped hands and faced the door, only to see Chancellor Tsunade looking at the scene unfolding in front of her.

"You're not going to suspend us?" asked Tenten hesitantly.

"No," replied Tsunade.

"You're not even going to give us detention?" asked Neji, with a confused expression, mirroring Tenten.

"Neither." Tsunade's honey gold eyes shining and a grin appeared on her face.

"But we thought you were going to lecture us," said Tenten.

Tsunade took a deep breath and said, "The best way to work out friction between two people is to leave them to work it out themselves. Both of you are two of my best students at this prestigious school and I thought you were both smart enough to confront your issues head on and work it out yourselves. Even if it took all night."

"All night? You were planning on keeping us here all night?" asked Neji in amazement.

"Yes, Mr. Hyuga. You both can stop looking at me like that!" she scolded noticing their frowns. "You're both teenagers and you need to start acting mature enough to come to some rational decisions when you have problems and come running to adults fro every little thing." She consulted her watch. "It's getting late. Mr. Hyuga, Lord Hiashi has sent the limo for you and Miss Tenten, I've hired a cab to drop you home."

She turned to leave but paused when Neji and Tenten didn't move. "I don't think either of you understand; I want you _both_ off of my damn compound, NOW!"

"Yes ma'am," the both shouted and they left without further ado; Tenten hobbling with her crutches and Neji holding both of their duffel bags.

Tsunade watched them leave. Neji had helped Tenten into her cab and saw her off before leaving with his own vehicle. _Well, well_, _their relationship is going to be very interesting_, she thought before turning off the remaining lights in the office before leaving for her own home.

* * *

Normally Fridays were Tenten's favorite day of the week, but this Friday, she decided, was the best. Yes her leg hurt like hell. Yes Karin, Rin and Tayuya and the rest of the 'elites' annoyed her ass. Yes everyone was looking at her in a new light, but thankfully it was in a good one. Most of the people in the freshman and sophomore class were acknowledging her for having the nerve to take a swipe out of_ the_ Neji Hyuga and still lived to tell the tale. But the best part about today was that she was friends with Neji, who was considered an insider and she was finally getting the respect she deserved.

That Morning…

The bell had already been rung, but Tenten decided that it would be best if she didn't rush to school like the rest of students, mainly because of the fact that she was, the first time in her life, a _cripple_. She hated that word, but how could she describe herself otherwise if suddenly the stairs leading up to school seemed as though she was climbing Mt. Everest. And there were only twenty one steps! How else would she be able to call herself if she needed Hinata or Ino or Sakura to help her hold her books or her satchel as she shuffled from class to class?

And those _bitches_ didn't make it any easier for her. Usually Tenten rarely cursed, but the pain caused her to cuss more than Ino today. She had just exchanged her Math books for her Chemistry ones into her locker and was walking down the corridor towards the Chem. Lab alone. Hinata had English the period before so usually she would already be waiting for her in class. She diverted some of students and raised her hand and smiled when random people along the hallway acknowledged her and she was going so well until she tumbled and fell, scattering her books all over the floor.

"Aw look girls," crooned Karin, "Humpty Dumpty had a great fall."

Both Rin and Tayuya cackled as Tenten tried to stand but her leg gave way and she fell back on the floor. The laughter around her grew louder and Rin asked, "What's the matter? Are you waiting for all the king's men to put you back together again?"

Tenten ignored them and tried to put her books in a pile in front of her. Her lab note book had skid the length and someone had stopped it with his foot. When the person had bent to pick it up, a hush fell on the crowd of 'elites'. Neji walked towards Tenten and dropped her book in the pile.

"Do you need some help?" he asked softly, ignoring the gasps around them.

"Please," responded Tenten and he pulled her to her feet. He let her place some of her weight on him before he returned her crutch. He gathered all of her books and Tenten held out her hand to receive them. But he shook his head and he did something un-Neji-like; he held onto her books and walked with her down the passage towards Chem. Lab 3 through the hordes of hushed students, who moved to make way for them to pass.

* * *

The students in her class were already organizing their chemicals as the second bell rang. The sounds of chattering students and clinking of glass were heard and their teacher called for their silence. She started instructing their class through the qualitative analysis lab when she noticed Tenten had just arrived. She knew that the girl was injured and decided to be lenient this time, but what she didn't expect was the scene that unfolded before her.

Neji handed Tenten her books. "You didn't have to do all of that, you know? Walking me to class?" she said.

The usual serious expression on Neji's face had disappeared when he spoke the girl he escorted to class. "It was my pleasure," he responded, keeping eye contact with Tenten before leaning towards her, brushing his lips of her now crimson cheekbones.

Whispers of shock were emulating from her classmates, as he left for his own class, leaving Tenten rooted to the floor. _Weren't they fighting yesterday? What the hell really happened?_

"Miss Tenten would you like to join us now?" asked the Chemistry teacher.

Tenten jumped slightly, still red in the face, and made her way to her seat next to Hinata, who would find it hard to conceal a smile through out class.

* * *

"What the hell happened yesterday and we want _all_ of the details?"

The minute Tenten sat down for lunch, Ino took it upon herself to interrogate her.

"What do you want me to say Ino?" asked Tenten warily. "You already know what caused us to fight."

"Yes but I want to know what transpired after. What did Tsunade say?" she persisted just as Sakura and Hinata slid into seats beside them; Hinata passed Tenten's lunch to her.

"She didn't say anything. She made us work it out ourselves in the nurse's office," the brown haired tomboy said shrugging.

"And did you guys work it out?" asked Sakura before she took a swig of her Evian.

"Well the must have," said Hinata, quietly, "because that would have explained the reason why he walked you to chemistry and kissed you in front of everyone."

Ino, who was eating tempura, choked on it and Hinata handed her her orange juice while Sakura sprayed her Evian over the table. Sakura was the first person the recover. "He walked you to class?"

"To hell with that!" Ino hollered at Sakura, before rounded on me asking, "_The_ Neji Hyuga kissed you?"

"Uh, yeah he did, but it's not what you guys think though," Tenten said blushing furiously.

"Wait guys! First things first. I want to know how he managed to walk you to class," said Hinata and then added to Ino and Sakura, "He was holding her books when they arrived."

Ino and Sakura gasped and then turned Tenten who sighed and started retelling the story.

"So he helped you get up, gathered all your books and walked you to class. Aww, he's such a gentleman," swooned Sakura.

"And he did it in front of Karin, Rin and Tayuya. Oh my god, Ten I love your boyfriend already," said Ino, her blue eyes glazing at the triumph.

"He's not my boyfriend," muttered Tenten stubbornly and Hinata chuckled at her.

"He may not be, but it looks as though he really likes you."

"Oh right! Where did he kiss you Tenten?" asked Sakura.

"He kissed me on my cheek. Where else do you think? It was in front of a lot of people; one of which was a teacher, for crying out loud!"

All three girls sighed while Tenten huffed in impatience. "What now?" she demanded.

"We would have never have guessed that you would be the first one in our little crew to get a boyfriend," replied Sakura.

Tenten rolled her eyes and said, "He's not my boyfriend, Sakura." But a moment later her heart begged to differ. She decided to steal a glance at the table where Neji usually sat and she found the Hyuga boy looking at her with the same look he gave her just before he kissed her earlier. Their gazes locked onto each other for a second before he looked away and Tenten smiled to herself. _He may not be my boyfriend but at least I know he feels the same way!_

* * *

_Enjoy and review!_


	8. And the Truth shall set you Free

_Chapter 7_

_**And The Truth Shall Set You Free**_

_We tell lies when we are afraid... afraid of what we don't know, afraid of what others will think, afraid of what will be found out about us. But every time we tell a lie, the thing that we fear grows stronger. _

_Tad Williams_

One of Tenten's councilors back in the orphanage used to always tell her that whenever a door closes another one will eventually open. This is what had kept her optimistic for her entire life. Every time she was hindered from pursuing her dreams, like during the instance when she wasn't able to represent the Fire Country in the Inter-country Martial Arts Tournament, due to lack of funds, she was still able to attend Konoha High and to receive a quality education, which will lead her to a secure future.

Another example of this could be the fact that she went from being an outcast, to being accepted by a group of friends, who all like her for who she is.

But did they really?

And a guy in an upper-class, who made it his business to walk her to every class, despite the fact that they belong to totally different cliques.

But was this for good or is he just feeling sorry for her?

Because there was deep secret that Tenten was afraid might come to surface, and cause her new friends and the boy who she loved (even though she would not admit it) to treat her just like how she was treated in the past.

So now she was in a dilemma – To tell the truth or not to tell the truth. That was the big freaking question.

* * *

It became a ritual from that day on that Neji Hyuga would wait for Tenten at their lockers, where he will hold her books for her and proceed to class. They would stop in the doorway before the final bell rang and amidst the stampede of students rushing to class last minute; the lavender-eyed boy would look intently at his brown-eyed companion, silently wishing her a good day before turning to sprint towards his own class. And Tenten was fine with this; for Neji was not one to indulge in idle conversation but to keep everything brief and to the point.

But after a week of hobbling around with crutches, Tenten was worried that this affection would cease once her injuries were healed. She sat at the lunch table on Monday with her three friends picking at her food moodily, while Sakura and Ino chatted happily and nonstop, refusing to contribute to the talk. Even shy Hinata added to the conversation, leaving Tenten to wallow in her own worries. Hinata had noticed her silence and tried at that point in time to strike up a discussion with her friend, but Tenten's half-heartedly responses got the timid Hyuga worried.

"Ten is something wrong?" asked Hinata.

"Huh?" was the blank response, which caused both Ino and Sakura to stop their conversation too.

"Ten, we were asking you on your opinion about the new outfits we bought on the shopping trip we went on Saturday. You know; the one you skipped out on with the lame excuse of _'I have to work'_," said Ino.

Tenten sighed and rolled her eyes. "How many times to I have to tell you this Yamanaka; I do have to work. It's really important that I don't miss my shift 'cause the money's important. Besides, my knee hasn't healed properly so I couldn't obviously been able to walk around a mall all day."

Ino scowled, "Fine I accept that your knee's busted, but trust me; I don't think skipping out on a shift of your after school job could cause you to starve would it?"

"Trust me you have no idea," muttered Tenten under her breath. Ino had no idea how close she was hitting home.

"Did you say something Ten?" asked Sakura.

"Um…."

"Yeah and about that, what's up with silent treatment? You've been spacing out all day," exaggerated Ino.

"Ino, knock it off. Stop grilling the girl, will ya?" scolded Sakura.

Ino held up her hands defensively and said, "My bad! I just want to know what's bugging her so bad that it has her staring into space."

_Well not really into space,_ thought Tenten as she stole another glance at the long but masculine hair of the sophomore sitting two tables ahead of them. She was studying Neji so intently that she didn't notice Hinata, Ino and Sakura following her eyesight.

"Oh! Now we understand what's bugging you," said Sakura before taking in another mouthful of tempura.

"Yeah, ten," chimed Ino, with a smirk. "What's new with you Mr. Oh-so-good-looking Hyuga over there?"

Tenten looked at the swish of his long hair for a second longer before focusing her attention completely on her lunch, ignoring Ino and her nosy questions.

"Well ten?" nagged Sakura.

"What?" asked Tenten, her mouth full of food.

"What's up with you and Neji?"

Tenten swallowed and sighed. "Nothing."

"What do you mean nothing?" inquired Ino.

"I mean nothing, Ino, nothing! He just walks me to class, holds my books for me and then wishes me good day," she ranted while stabbing at a stubborn carrot. "It's been a week now and he hasn't even talked to me, like you know…" she ended quite lamely.

"Like a boyfriend?" quipped Hinata, causing the tomboy's shoulders to slump in confirmation.

Hinata sighed and said, "Ten, Neji isn't a very talkative person."

"He was damn well talkative in the nurse's office."

"Have you tried instigating a conversation?" asked Sakura.

"Yeah, but he just shuts me down," Tenten moaned. "What the hell am I supposed to do?" She directed this question at Hinata.

"Well I don't know! As I've said before Neji-niisan, isn't a very loquacious person. But," she added quickly as Tenten hit her forehead onto the table in frustration, "If he's walking you to class and wait for you at your locker every morning, then he's definitely interested."

"You're right Hinata!" exclaimed Sakura. "Why else would he make it his business to hold your books and in front of the bitchy trio no less?"

"What if he's just doing all this because he damaged my knee?" Tenten countered.

"If he sees you as a charity case then why the hell did he kiss you in front of the whole freaking school body?" argued Ino.

When Tenten didn't answer, Sakura aid, "Look Tenny, you're thinking a little too much into this."

"And if you're so concerned about what he think about you I think you should confront him," added Hinata. "I know for sure the Neji likes people to be straight forward with him."

Tenten sighed and finally relented. She'll take to him this afternoon before school ends.

"Any way, now that we have cleared up Ten's love life, the real question stands – how's your knee?" asked Ino.

"Oh it's getting better," Tenten replied automatically flexing her foot at the heeling hinge joint. It wasn't as painful as it was before so she was able to walk around without crutches. "Nurse Akiko said that should be able to resume training from next week."

"That's great Tenten! Let's just hope a certain someone doesn't damage it further during practice," snickered Ino.

Sakura pulled at Ino's long side bangs causing her to yelp. "Hey what the hell was that for?"

"Stop being a bitch Ino-pig!"

"Can it forehead!"

"Shush! Both of you! You're giving Hinata and me a migraine!"

* * *

Tenten looked at her battered old wristwatch for the umpteenth time impatiently waiting for Kurenai-sensei to stop lecturing her history class on the First Great Shinobi War. The time was drawing closer for her to meet up with Neji and she was trying to figure out the best way to talk to him.

It was almost three and the usually eloquent tomboy was at a loss of what to say to the heartthrob of the 'elites'. When the bell rang, Tenten grabbed all of her books and just crammed them into her bag before limping out of class toward her locker. Soon her looker and the long-haired Hyuga boy leaning on it came into sight causing her to become tongue tied and flustered like before.

Without even glancing at her, he just moved to the side so she could open her locker, absentmindedly fiddling with his state-of-the-art mobile phone, which had not even been released in the Fire Country yet.

"Um, hi Neji," greeted Tenten, only when her head was safely hidden in her locker, as she took out her homework.

"Hn," was his reply. Tenten sighed and thought _ok then, time for the ice breaker_.

She closed her locker door with her shoulder since her arms were full. The strap of her satchel started to slide off of her shoulder and Neji, who had the reflexes Tenten admired, grabbed it before it fell. Instead of placing it back on her shoulder, he wordlessly opened it and started offloading books from her arms and packing them in her bag neater than they usually are packed. Tenten decided that this was the right moment to strike up conversation.

"So, um, Neji, how was your day?" she asked, while he stuffed her calculus book into her bag.

"It was ok, I guess," was his response; his eyes still fixated on his work. He stood up and swung Tenten's bag over his shoulder with his and begun walking towards the school gate, with Tenten clutching her folder to her chest standing in awe.

When he realized that she was not following him, Neji turned around and frowned, "Aren't you coming?"

Tenten was still awestruck at this new development and followed the Hyuga boy out of the school compound without saying a word. She fell into stride with him and was looking at the horizon in deep thought. _He has never walked me so far away from school,_ she thought. She glanced at him at the corner of her eye. _I wonder what's going on in his head…_

"Tenten?" The sound of her name coming from his lips brought her out of her reverie.

"Yeah?"

"Is something wrong?"

She looked up at the boy with startled eyes. "No. Why do you ask?"

He didn't answer immediately, but looked into her brown eyes for a minute. "Well for starters, you're usually babbling about some random nonsense. But today you haven't said a word."

"Well, to be honest, I'm trying to figure you out," responded the brown haired girl.

"Oh? Why is that?"

"Well for starters, you usually just walk me to class. But today, not only have you met me after school, you're walking me home and carrying my bag. So forgive me if I'm a bit curious."

Neji smirked, "I don't here you complaining though."

It was at this moment that Tenten had finally lost it. She stomped her foot like a child who was throwing a tantrum. She stopped and placed her hand on her hip and growled at the boy who was slowly making his way into her heart.

"Damn it Neji Hyuga!" she screeched at his back, since he was still walking ahead. "For once in your life, would you give me a straight answer?"

Neji stopped and turned around slowly to face her. "Answer? To what?"

Tenten walked forward. "To why you walk me to class everyday but don't say a word to me? To why you're walking me home and holding my bag as if… as if you're my boyfriend or something?" A blush quickly spread across her cheeks as she continued, "And you don't even realize what your silence is doing to me! You don't even realize that I…. I l-like y-you."

Neji looked down at her with his shrewd lavender eyes and smirked. "You know stuttering isn't your style. I think you're spending too much time with Hinata."

The pinkish tinge on her cheeks quickly deepened to a bright red when she punched him in the shoulder; not hard to injure him but to definitely throw him a bit off balance. But Neji was too quick for her. He grabbed her wrist and gripped it forcing her to unclench her fist and without hesitation, intertwined his fingers with hers. Tenten's eyes widened with shock as she observed the new predicament unfolding before her – _Neji Hyuga is holding my hand!_

But Tenten's reaction did not deter Neji from continuing his onslaught on her hand. He used his thumb to massage her knuckles, causing her breath to hitch. The blush returned to her face as he continued, "You want to know why I walk you class everyday but don't speak. At first, I was doing it because I was the one responsible for injuring you and that was my way of paying my debt."

Tenten cleared her throat, but she still sounded as though all of the air was knocked out of her. "And now?" he asked.

"Now I'm doing it because I don't want to have an excuse to walk you to class or hold your books. I'm doing it because I want to. Besides," he continued looking into Tenten's eyes, "I thought that I'd already made it clear that the feelings I have for you are mutual."

Tenten gulped. "You like me?" she whispered.

Neji rolled his eyes and used his free hand to brush a strand of hair away from her face. "I thought had made that clear when I kissed you in front of the entire freshman class. Not to mention a member of the teaching administration."

Tenten chuckled and let go of Neji's hand to scratch behind her head in her sheepish, tomboy manner. "I was just making sure," she said awkwardly, causing Neji in turn to laugh. To the tomboy, it was the most genuine feeling he had ever expressed and he was happy that she was the one to experience it.

She checked her watch that was now reading half past three. "Oh crap," she moaned.

"What's wrong?"

"I'm late for work!"

"Well, we'll just have to hurry then," responded Neji coolly and offered his hand to her.

She took his hand and together they ran at top speed to the supermarket. She was only a few minutes late and Mr. Takahama just waved away her apologies.

"It's alright Tenten. You're always here on time," said the store owner.

"Thank you sir," said Neji, politely. "It was my fault that she was late anyway."

"That's perfectly alright young man," said Mrs. Takahama, amicably, who was exiting the store room while tying her apron. "There's nothing wrong with Tenten spending a little time with her boyfriend. Besides I think it's very nice that you walked her to work, Mr. Hyuga," she babbled on, totally ignoring the bright shade of red that both Neji and Tenten's face had turned when they heard the word 'boyfriend'.

* * *

The rest of the week was pretty good in Tenten's opinions. Her relationship with Neji was now much more pronounced. Unfortunately, this brought on a new wave of heckling from Karin, Rin and Tayuya. It happened so much during and in between class that Tenten, with her pride, refused to comment. The only relief she had was when she was with Neji.

Neji would never admit it, but he was comfortable around Tenten and found himself opening up to her about hi family and private life. He unashamedly held onto her hand whenever they walked together, which further fueled the hating on his girlfriend.

* * *

On Friday, at lunch, Ino, Hinata and Sakura were making plans for another shopping trip. They chatted excitedly about it and like usual, Tenten withdrew from the conversation and started playing with her rice waiting for the axe to fall. And it did eventually!

"Ok Ten! No excuses! We are meeting at the front entrance close to the water fountain at 11," said Sakura.

"I'm sorry guy I'll have to pass," sighed Tenten.

"I don't think you understood what Sakura said," snipped Ino. "We are _all_ meeting at the mall. Front Entrance. At 11 o'clock. Find your little behind there or we will drag you there by your hair."

"But…"

"What part of no excuses, don't you understand?"

"Look guys I really can't take any time off!"

"Ten," said Hinata, quietly, "It's just for a couple of hours. Please come."

"Yeah, Ten please! We really miss you and besides you could do with some new soccer boots when you resume training," said Sakura.

"Ok, fine I'll come," she said after a moment's deliberation. Her friends started to cheer, but Tenten held up her hand to silence them before continuing, "But only if Mr. Takahama gives me time off."

"That won't be necessary."

Tenten swilled around in her chair to see Neji standing behind her. "What are you talking about Neji?" she asked, ignoring the butterflies in her stomach.

"Hinata asked me yesterday to intercede on your behalf for some time off. And I did."

Tenten turned around to glare at the timid Hyuga girl who was chuckling nervously. "We knew that you would find an excuse Ten, so…"

"So you used my boyfriend to destroy any excuse I have. Thanks Hinata," retorted Tenten, hotly causing the girls and Neji to cackle.

The bell rang and the movement of the students around them signaled for them to leave for their next class. Tenten stood up in huff and was about to stomp away when Neji stopped her. He placed his hands on her shoulders and grazed his lips across her cheekbone, prompting Tenten's face to go into blush mode and her friends to start up a chorus of 'Awws'.

"Don't be angry at your friends, Ten," he whispered to her. "They just want to hang out."

"I know that! And I'm not angry at them."

"Are you angry at me then?" he asked, his mouth twitching as if he was resisting the urge to smile.

"I can't be angry at you, Hyuga. And wipe that grin of your face," she said rolling her eyes.

"Hey Neji! Could you let Tenten go now 'cause we're late for class?" asked Ino.

Neji stepped away from the group and bid them farewell before disappearing in the crowd of busy students.

"Well guys, I have to go. I don't want to be late for English. Kakashi-sensei isn't to keen about late comers, the hypocrite," said Ino.

"Yeah, I know what you mean. He gives out more detentions than the entire teaching body combine," said Sakura sympathetically.

After saying our goodbyes, Ino pelted away toward English, with Sakura following at her heels towards History. Hinata and Tenten had Chemistry, so they walked together, maneuvering their way through the corridors.

At their lockers, Hinata took the opportunity to speak, "Ten, I'm really sorry."

"It's ok, Hinata," he responded with her head inside the locker.

"I know about your situation," she rushed on, "That's why I'm giving you this." She held out a slip of paper which Tenten took and read.

"Hinata, this is a gift certificate…"

"…To all of the clothing boutiques at the shopping centre. It gives you discount at a total of twenty clothing, shoe and accessory stores that family owns."

Tenten looked up at her friend. "Hinata, this I just too much. I really can't accept this!"

"Yes you can," Hinata responded closing her hand over her friend. "You work too hard and you don't have any fun. You deserve it!"

Tenten was dumbstruck. "I don't know what to say Hina-chan."

"Trust me, a 'thank you' and you coming on that outing with us tomorrow, will work just fine," Hinata said smiling.

"Ok then, I'll see you there tomorrow."

"Great!"

The second bell rang and Hinata and Tenten slammed the locker doors, in a haste to reach to class before their Chem. Teacher could take a page out of Hatake-sensei's book and start dishing out detentions.

* * *

I'm so sorry that it took so long for me to update the story. Form 6 is being a bitch! So to my faithful readers and reviewers - I hope you enjoyed it!


	9. Nothing Like the First Date

Chapter 8:

_**Nothing Like the First Date**_

"_We just now got the feeling that we're meeting_

_For the first time"_

**_For the First Time_**

**_The Script_**

In all of her fourteen years of life, if there was one thing that Tenten was certain about is that she would have never have expected to be someone's girlfriend. And the possibility that she would have gotten her boyfriend within the first semester at a school she would have only be able to attend with her scholarship, didn't even cross her mind. And of the entire male population in the school she just had to have the richest boy in the school to like her.

It's been almost a month since she and Neji have been 'together', so to speak. She was quite daunted at first about doing, um, stuff with Neji in public like kissing and holding hands and such, since she wasn't accustomed to it. But Neji is in her opinion, is the perfect gentleman. He personally also doesn't like public displays of affection, so they decided in just holding hands.

Holding hands was harmless. It gave them enough contact to show that they're in a relationship, but not too much to expose them to scrutiny by their peers.

Or so they thought.

The fact that a freshman, whose history was not known, was dating one of the most eligible bachelors in the school was subject for gossip amongst they biggest rumor spreaders in the high school and her friend Ino was no exception.

Tenten knew that Ino meant no harm but sometime she would read too much into the scene.

That Friday after school she took another day off from work (she had started taking a lot of time off to hang out with her friends and Neji, but the Takahama's didn't complain) to spend the weekend at Ino's house. She had invited Hinata, Sakura and herself to her ultimate sleepover. Usually it was only Sakura and Ino, but now she was delighted that two more were added to her clique.

So here she was, standing in front Ino's house on Friday evening, with her sleeping bag under her arm and her clothes bag hanging unceremoniously over her opposite shoulder. Ino's house had two levels; the top storey was the living quarters while the ground floor was used for the Yamanaka's flower business. It was a quaint house with its trademark white picket fence and a well managed garden with different variation of bonsai to the back.

_Well, what did you expect from florists?_ thought Tenten when the front door of the house, on the top floor opened, revealing the blond-haired girl living there.

"Oh good! You arrived ok! We thought you got lost," she shouted down at her friend, before calling to the others over her shoulder, "Guys, she's here!" A stampede of footfalls upstairs followed and the heads of Sakura and Hinata materialized next to Ino, both girls waving at their brown-haired friend over the balcony.

Ino leaned over and shouted down at a man meditating in the garden to the side of the house. "Hey dad! Can you let my friend in please? I promise I won't harass you for the rest of the evening!"

Said man sighed heavily and stood slowly. He emerged from the shadows finally showing his true form. Ino's resemblance to her father was uncanny. They had the same blonde ponytail and the same cerulean eyes. Their expressions were different though; their maturity level was greatly exhausted by their facial expressions.

"You must be Tenten. Am I right?" he asked tiredly, when he approached.

"Um, yea, I mean yes sir, Yamanaka-san," replied Tenten, stumbling over her tongue, as she reminded herself that this was her friend's father he was speaking to.

He beckoned her to follow him towards to the stars, off to the side of the house from which he emerged. "I am glad you found the place alright. When we saw it was already seven, the girls were in a state, wondering if you had gotten lost."

Tenten trudged behind him. "I'm sorry. I had to speak to my employers first before I came here. And no I didn't get lost, 'cause someone dropped be here."

"The Hyuga boy dropped you over here?"

That question caught her of guard. "Er… how did you know?"

"Well he did drop off his cousin earlier and before he left Ino shouted something about bringing 'his woman' over."

Tenten was glad that it was dark; her face had turned beet red as she contemplated killing the loud-mouthed Yamanaka in her sleep.

She was hoping that Mr. Yamanaka didn't see the scowl on her face but that idea was scraped when the front door opened, casting light on her face. He was immediately bowled over my three adolescent girls, the minute the door opened and all Tenten saw was a flash of pink, blond and black before she hit the floor.

* * *

Tenten blinked. The first thing she saw was the small chandelier fixated to the red mahogany ceiling. And then she felt it. The bump on the back of her head and the pain associated with it.

She sat up slowly poking at it. "What the hell…" she groaned.

"Oh you're awake!" exclaimed a soft, timid voice that she would recognize anywhere.

How long was I out for Hinata?" she asked while combing her hair with her hand; someone had unraveled her hair from the buns.

"Um, for about an hour. It's only eight."

Tenten took the opportunity to observe her surroundings. Everything was so bright and clean. "This room is so Ino," he mumbled causing Hinata to chuckle.

"Speaking of which, where are they?"

"They went to get pizza and stuff. They should be back soon enough…." Hinata's voice trailed off when the sound of footsteps and loud chattering, made its way down the hallway. Ino's door flew open revealing Ino and Sakura in jeans, spaghetti-strap tops and heels with their arms loaded with junk food, soda and a box with an extra-large pizza, which was emitting the most heavenly smell.

Tenten bolted off of Ino's bed quite unlady-like and bounded towards the pizza yelling, "Yay! Food!" But Ino put out her food and tripped the tomboy, who fell to the ground comically.

"Ino! What the hell!"

But the blond Yamanaka didn't budge. She stood there defiantly with the pizza box over her head and said, "I will give you food under one condition."

Tenten stood, narrowing her eyes. _What's her game?_ She thought and aloud she asked, "What is it?"

"Because this is a girls' sleep over, we are only allowed to do girls' stuff and that includes you," her eyes narrowed on me.

"And what would this include me doing Yamanaka?" I asked tersely.

"Lose the panda ears," she commanded, gesturing to my buns.

Tenten shrieked and stood up quickly. "Hell no! I know what you're up to blondie," the tomboy still wearing her cargo pants and soccer t-shirt took a step back, "I'm outta here!"

Tenten made her way to escape the room but the bedroom door shut unexpectantly, with Sakura and Hinata standing guard in front of it. Tenten groaned, "You've got to be kidding me!"

"Sorry Ten, we're going to win eventually, so just give it up," replied Sakura.

Tenten sighed and plopped down on the edge of the bed and pulled out the pins holding her hair up, while the girls cheered. Her brown wavy hair cascaded down her back ending at her waist. She closed her eyes waiting for the onslaught as Ino approached her with a comb and a pair of …. scissors.

Scissors?

"Ino get that away from me!" she growled at her.

"Stop it Ten! You have split ends and I'm just going to get rid of them. Now keep your head straight," she directed as she started working the comb through the thick knots.

Every now and then Tenten would wince in pain and Ino would just snap back at her. "Well it's your fault that you haven't been taking better care of your hair."

"I've never really had time for this kind of stuff," mumbled Tenten. She grimaced again when Ino started hacking away at the string ends of her long, unruly hair.

She felt Ino's manicure running through her strands again. "So what on earth kept you so busy before?"

Tenten counted it off on her right hand. "Studying, playing sports, doing community service; you know that sort of stuff."

"Oh please!" snorted Ino. "Surely you had friends or some sort of social life." But when Tenten didn't reply she gasped, "No wonder you have no taste in clothes."

"Or act so socially awkward when we went the mall," interjected Sakura.

"Or had no clue how to talk to Neji," added Hinata quietly, causing Ino and Sakura to start a round of giggles and raucous laughter.

Tenten frowned at her best friend, who was now covering her face; pink from laughter. "Thanks Hina-chan. I'll make sure that Uzumaki passes your way _every_ day before going to Calculus."

"Hey!" Hinata exclaimed her face pink, not from laughter but from the blush that Tenten, Ino and Sakura knew too well.

"Now that's just cruel Tenny," laughed Sakura.

"It may be cruel, but I so wanna be there when it happens," argued Ino.

"You still like him that much Hinata?" asked Sakura, after all the laughter had died down.

Hinata merely nodded and when she didn't elaborate, Sakura answered, "I still don't understand what's so appealing about him. He's loud, rambunctious, attention-seeking…"

"Exactly! He's Hinata's polar opposite," responded Tenten. "And that's why she likes him; opposites attract! It's the law of nature."

"And Electrophysics," added Sakura.

"That makes no sense!" opposed Ino, as she snipped at Tenten's side bangs. "If I like a guy he needs to be compatible with my characteristics."

"Oh really Pig?" questioned Sakura, who started braiding Hinata's hair. "Then enlighten us. What sort of man has caught your attention?"

"Well he's still unnamed, but if I have to get a boyfriend he needs to be kind, compassionate, intelligent, obviously good-looking…"

"…and his name is Shikamaru Nara," muttered Sakura.

Tenten felt the weight on Ino's hand temporarily leave her head only to land on Sakura's shoulder.

"Ouch Pig!"

"Stuff it forehead! You know it's not true," responded Ino; her hand returned to attack Tenten's head.

"Oh really?" countered Sakura, who had just finished forming Hinata's blackish-blue hair into one long braid and both girls were switching seats. "'Cause I could have sworn that you keep staring after him during History. Could you curl my hair a bit Hinata?"

"I was not staring at him!" said Ino defiantly, as Hinata brought over a pack of hair curlers and hair spray.

"Oh you weren't? Well you could've fooled me with those googly eyes you were sending his way when we were in the mall last weekend."

Tenten gasped at Sakura, "Oh my goodness! So I wasn't hallucinating when we were in the ice-cream parlour."

"Nah! It's was all real."

"Even the drooling?" inquired Hinata, the blush started to die away.

"Even the drooling."

"I WAS NOT DROOLING!"

"Could've fooled me," muttered Tenten. This earned her a poke from her hairdresser.

"Ok," said Ino huffily, "Now that you all have had your fun harassing me and Hinata, now it's our turn. I wanna hear some dirt on Hyuga and Uchiha."

Both Tenten and Sakura groaned. "You guys know everything about how much I like Neji and about Sakura's crush on Sasuke. What else on Buddha's green earth that you want to know again?"

"Well for starters, you don't tell us everything that's going on."

Tenten spun around to face Ino. "I didn't know I was obligated to tell you everything," she said sarcastically. "Just because you're my friend doesn't mean that you have obtain exclusive access to know everything that's going on in my life. There are just somethings that I prefer to keep private."

Ino rolled her eyes. "Oh come on! You make it sound as though you're hiding a humongous secret from us. What's the matter? You're an orphan or something?"

Tenten stared at her dumbfounded. _Good grief Ino! _She thought. _You have no idea how close you're hitting home._

Hinata glanced in Tenten's direction and all she could read was panic. She knew that Tenten was just being ridiculous about keeping her financial and home status away from her friends, but she respected her wishes and said nothing to the others. But that wasn't the problem right now. She needed to get Tenten out of the hot seat. And fast.

Hinata chuckled, "Now that's the most ridiculous thing that I have ever heard Ino-chan."

Sakura laughed as well. "And Tenten's right Ino. Whatever she chooses to tell us about her and Neji is her decision. The same goes for me."

Ino sighed, "Fine! Whatever! Don't tell me anything." She beckoned Tenten towards her so she could trim her bangs so that it fell unevenly over her eyebrows. "You don't even have to tell me anything about your date with Neji tomorrow night," she added, mumbling under her breath.

Tenten recoiled, shocked. "How the hell did you know that? I didn't tell anyone about that!"

"Newsflash hun! You didn't have to ask me anything," corrected Ino. "Don't you forget – It takes two to tango."

"What in the bloody name of Buddha is that supposed to mean?"

"Neji told me that you guys were going to have dinner at Natsuko's tomorrow," answered Hinata, cringing at the realization of what she had just done. "Oh god! Neji's going to kill me!"

"He's taking me to Natsuko's Imperial Palace?" asked Tenten, really shocked.

"Wait! You didn't know he was taking you there?" asked Sakura. "But Hinata said…"

"I slipped up," moaned Hinata. "It was supposed to be a surprise…"

"Well I'm definitely surprised," agreed Tenten, her eyes wide with shock.

"He's going to kill me!" repeated a mortified Hinata.

"No he's not Hinata," sighed Tenten. "I'm actually glad you told me. I hate surprises. Especially since my boyfriend got us a reservation at the most freaking expensive restaurant there is in Fire Country!"

"And this also gives us an idea of what you should wear, or rather, what we need to buy for you to wear," quipped Ino, who had finally finished trimming Tenten's bangs. "Ok, check out your hair and tell me what you think," she said handing Tenten a mirror.

Her hair was now much tamer than it had ever looked in life. Instead of a few strings hanging aimlessly on her face, she now had a tame fringe, unevenly cut so that most of it reached her eyebrows with the occasional strand falling in front of her chocolate brown eyes. She turned sideways to observe its length. Ino had just trimmed off and inch so its length was maintained, but nevertheless it looked better than before.

"So do you like it?" asked Ino, tentatively.

"I'm so loving this Ino," Tenten laughed, as she admired her hair some more. "You've got a real talent for this, girl."

"I know," responded Ino, showing no modesty whatsoever. "But don't let my parents hear that. They just want me to do a business management course in Konoha U and then come back to 'claim my inheritance' a.k.a the flower shop."

"Don't worry Ino. I'm sure they'll come around by the time we're ready to graduate," assured Sakura. She turned to Tenten. "Now that your hair is done, we need to start on you make up."

"Huh?"

"Well, you probably have no clue how to apply makeup, so we're going to teach you. I mean we don't want you walking into a fancy restaurant looking as though you just woke up right?" reasoned Sakura.

"And we need to make sure you look nice so we're going to the mall tomorrow to buy you something to wear," added Hinata.

"Why can't I just wear the new stuff you guys forced me to buy last week?" asked Tenten, frowning at her three friends.

"Girl you cannot wear jeans to a fancy restaurant!" said Ino adamantly, rolling her eyes at the thought.

"So what exactly am I supposed to wear?" she asked rhetorically. All three girls rolled their eyes when Tenten started cursing. "No way! No f…."

Ino clamped her hand over her mouth. "Shhh! My parents will hear you cussing!"

She removed her hand but Tenten didn't stop. "I'm not going to wear a _dress_!"

"Don't forget you stilettos, Ten," added Hinata.

"I can't walk in stilettos," she said, her face paled at the thought of clumsily walking towards Neji in a pair of absurd heels that caused her to look more awkward than model-like. "I'll fall and break my ass and then he'll never speak to me again."

"Don't worry Tenten," said Hinata. "When we're done with you, no one will know that it's the same tomboy who plays soccer like a guy."

Somehow Tenten didn't find this convincing at all.

* * *

Neji crossed his left leg over his right, restlessly, while consulting with his watch from what seemed to be the millionth time. _What in the blazes was keeping Tenten so long?_ Their dinner reservation was for seven and it was almost half-past six.

Hinata, Ino and Sakura periodically stampeded down the flight of stairs to inform him that they were almost finished. But he was waiting here in the Yamanaka's living room for an uncomfortable hour.

Poor Mr. Yamanaka. Having three teenage girls take over his house like that. Neji finally understood the reason why Uncle Hiashi was so strict where Hinata and Hanabi were concerned.

The door creaked open revealing Ino, Sakura, Hinata and a tall girl who wobbled slightly when she walked in.

Neji took a good look at the girl; his grey, opaque eyes raking every inch of her from her toes, up her shapely, athletic legs. She was wearing a short, black, chiffon dress with a silver-sequined halter straps. He was so busy staring at this girl's bare upper chest that he did a double take when he recognized her voice.

"Um… Hi Neji."

His eyes darted to her face in utter disbelief.

"Tenten?"

* * *

A/N: I hope this chapter was worth the wait :) Please Review.


	10. Irony of the Broken heart

Chapter 9:

**Irony of the Broken Heart**

_"A broken heart is the single greatest pain you will ever have to endure._

_In fact, the most hurt you can ever imagine. _

_And the one who commits this emotional crime_

_is not someone you hate;_

_it is not even someone you dislike..._

_No,_

_because the only person who is capable of breaking your heart_

_is the one who holds it precariously in their hands,_

_the one with whom you have shared your dreams,_

_your secrets,_

_your fears -_

_the one you love more than anybody else in the world._

_And therein lies the irony..."_

* * *

Ok so let's recap.

I've just spent the last twenty-four hours cooped up in Ino's bedroom, while my three _lovely_ friends attempted to turn a tramp into a lady. Literally.

Or a more accurate comparison – A tomboy into a supermodel.

Ino was sorry she couldn't take a picture of me and plaster it on Karin's locker saying 'See! You don't have to dress like a whore to get a man.' Though at this point, I beg to differ.

I have never walked in four-inch stilettos before. Nor have I attempted to wear a ridiculously short dress that these crazy people decided to purchase for me to, and I quote, "Knock 'em dead."

And why the hell does my dress have to showing so much skin. I mean come on! I'm going to a fancy restaurant, not a casino!

Are they really trying to make me look like a fool in front of him?

But the way he was looking at me when we entered the living room, it was as though he liked what he was seeing.

Or maybe he didn't recognize me.

* * *

"Um, hi Neji!"

His eyes flew to my face and widened in shock. I obviously didn't look like myself; otherwise he wouldn't be starting at me as though a Victoria Secrets model was doing a striptease for him.

I glanced at Ino, who was standing closest to me, out of the corner of my eye to see her reaction. It wasn't promising; she was actually gloating at Neji's expression.

Tenten closed her eyes and took a deep breath. _I knew this was a bad idea_, she thought, before reopening the door leading out of the living room and into the hallway mumbling, "Ok, I'm going to change.

"No!" screamed a group of voices in unison, which shockingly included the fine male specimen, standing opposite me.

Who was wearing a tux.

For a moment I inwardly swooned. _Damn Neji, why do you have to clean up so nice?_ Tenten blushed at the thought and stared back at her date, whose eyes were now determinedly fixated to her face.

Inoichi cleared his throat, causing the tense silence to be broken slightly. He signaled for his daughter, Sakura and Hinata to follow him into the kitchen. "Well ladies, if you want that home-made fried chicken to finish before bedtime, we should start now," he said, giving Ino a slight push in the direction of the kitchen.

Ino looked at her father incredulously. At this point, if it was anyone else, a stream of curses would be emitted, but since it was _her father_ she just protested, "But dad…"

Inoichi frowned at his daughter, who decided that it would be a better idea if they listened. "Come on guys," she sighed and they retreated into the kitchen, defeatedly.

Tenten turned to watch them leave; her back facing Neji. Even after the door swung close she still stared at it, waiting for Neji to make the first move.

"Well, shall we go then?"

Tenten turned to face him. Neji's hands were shoved in his pockets as he stared at her. "Our reservation is at seven," he walked towards the door and removed Tenten's coat from the coatrack, "and I don't know about you, but I could do with some herring hoba."

Tenten smiled shyly as she walked forward and allowed him to slip her new coat over her shoulders.

* * *

When the limousine finally halted, Tenten was shocked. They weren't at Natsuko's as she originally thought but was facing a large freshwater pond in the middle of a forested area. The night sky was a clear sapphire blue with millions of stars scatter above them. It was surprisingly bright at this time, only because there was a full moon.

"I thought we were going to Natsuko's," exclaimed Tenten causing a grin to break out on his face.

"I knew Hinata wouldn't keep it to herself," he laughed as he grasped her hand in his.

Tenten rolled her eyes and huffed, "So you made them dress me up for absolutely now reason, huh?"

Neji smirked and raked her over with his lavender eyes. "We are technically still having dinner so," he paused to touch the newly trimmed locks of hair framing Tenten's face, "I don't think you new look's going to waste."

Tenten's cheeks turned pink as his thumb stroke her bottom lip. She cleared her throat and attempted to speak but her voice came out all wrong and quiet. "If we're here to have dinner, why aren't we eating," she stuttered out, trying to compose herself.

"Oh I don't know," replied Neji, still smirking, "I just like making you blush. You act so tough all the time…"

Tenten laughed shakily, "Well I do have to keep up appearances you know."

"I know," responded Neji, before he leaned forward to place a chaste kiss on her lips. When Neji's eyes reopened, he laughed at the candid expression his girlfriend's face; she looked as though she was going to faint.

He gripped her hand and gently pulled her towards the edge of the lake. "Let me get you something to eat before you pass out on me."

Close to the water's edge was a picnic basket on a large blanket that was spread out on the dewy grass. They both sat side by side and removed their footwear; Neji chucked off his black dress shoes, which, just like the smooth surface of the water, reflected the moonlight. Tenten relieved her feet from the painful torture of her heels and placed them next to Neji's shoes, while arching her foot and wincing at the slight discomfort.

Neji chuckled. "I take it you're not a 'stilettoes-girl' huh?" he said while he removed the contents from the basket.

Tenten rolled her eyes at him. "Well, I thought that was obvious, especially after you've seen me kick a soccer ball. Besides, "she lifted a bottle to read the label which said 'Chardonnay', "I never pegged you as a romantic."

"I'm not," he replied taking the bottle of Champagne from her and giving her a heated food box. "This only reserved for special company."

Tenten's face became flushed once more. She bent her head while trying to cover her blush by opening her food. "I should be thrilled that someone like you would consider me 'special company'."

"Oh? Why's that?" asked Neji, absentmindedly as he hunted for chopsticks in the basket.

_Because I'm not who you, or anyone for that matter thinks I am,_ she thought.

"Tenten?"

She shook her head and looked at him. "It's nothing," she responded, accepting the wooden eating utensils from her date and opening her food container to reveal sesame pork dumplings. She took a deep breath and sighed, "Nothing like good ol' sesame dumplings."

Neji grinned at her as he split his chopsticks and picked up a small helping of hoba. In between bites, he shyly observed Tenten's expression; her eyes were closed and there was a small smile of contentment on her face as she chewed.

"I take it you're enjoying it?"

"Uh huh," she hummed, with a full mouth. She swallowed and asked, before taking another helping, "How'd you know that I like sesame dumplings?"

"Well," he said after slurping some of the sauce from his food container, "there is a reason why I don't mind my cousin hanging around you."

Tenten laughed. "Oh? So Hinata's your little spy huh?"

"Well I do need someone in the inside, don't I?" he said, the ends of his mouth curving upwards to form his signature smirk.

"Oh really? Why can't you be like a _normal_ boyfriend and ask me yourself?" teased Tenten.

"Because I know for a fact that you would never tell me what you like before torturing me for a little while."

Tenten laughed, "You know me too well, Neji Hyuga."

* * *

"It's right there."

"I can't see it."

They were lying side by side on the blanket and looking for star constellations. Neji made a drawing movement in the air above them with is forefinger.

"See the pattern of the large cup right there?"

A pair of brown eyes turned to frown at him. "I'm still not seeing it."

Lavender eyes met brown ones. "How could you not see it even though I'm _tracing_ it out with my finger? Do you need spectacles?"

That last comment earned Neji a hard _thump_ on his shoulder.

"There are just so much damn stars," complained Tenten, as she gazed up at the endless ebony sky before them, littered with tiny celestial orbs. "I've never seen so much before," she said softly. "Even back where I lived before…." Her voice trailed off at the memory of her sneaking around the backyard of the orphanage at night, just to look for stars.

"It always had so much smog covering the city," she explained to Neji who was quietly taking in her voice.

A comfortable silence fell between them before Neji spoke. "When I was a child, my father tried his best to shield me from the severity of his work. At that age, my family tried to put a sugar coating on everything. My father would take me camping just to get away from the criminals he worked with…"

"Criminals?" asked Tenten, "but I thought…"

"Trust me. There are a lot of things that are confusing to me as well. It has taken me years to fully understand what really went on in the lives of the Hyuga clan."

Tenten hesitated before she spoke. "Hinata mentioned a bit about your parents' deaths…"

Neji smiled. "I know. She told me. And it's ok," he assured her when her forehead became full of frown lines. He raised his hand and brushed his fingertips across her forehead. "You shouldn't frown so much, the lines would become permanent."

Tenten's face instantly relaxed and she closed her eyes leaning into his touch. She sighed as his thumb ran over her prominent cheek bones. "Why me?"

"Why you what?" he asked his voice lower than usual.

"I mean, why me? Why tell me what you've never revealed to anyone before? Why tell me anything at all?"

"Because I trust you."

Tenten raised up to a semi-sitting position; propping up herself with her hand. "You trust me?" she asked incredulously.

Neji rolled his eyes and pushed himself upwards until his nose was level with Tenten's. "Do I have any reason not to?" he asked.

Tenten just looked at him in astonishment. _Yes, because I'm not who you think I am._

"Are you cheating on me?"

Tenten scoffed, "No! Of course not!"

"Are _you_ keeping a deep, dark secret from me and the rest of the world?"

Tenten gulped. "N-no! I-I mean…. W-what I mean is…." She stuttered.

Neji rushed on. "Are _you_ a criminal and wanted by the law?"

Tenten opened her mouth to answer but then closed it. Her face burned a bright red as she smacked Neji on the shoulder while hollering, "What the hell Hyuga?"

Neji fell back on his back laughing hard. "You…. should see…the look…on…your…face!" he chortled, while gasping for air.

Tenten huffed at him and flicked her now shoulder length hair as she turned her back towards him in a fit of defiance, as Neji continued to laugh.

"You think you're _so_ funny Hyuga. No wonder you have absolutely no experience with women."

It was Neji's turn to blush while Tenten laughed at his expense.

"Ok fine! A point for the tomboy," admitted Neji, when Tenten's laughter died down to a mere grin. "Just for the record, you tell _anyone_ about what just happened; you're dead."

"What? About you laughing like a _normal_ person?" scoffed Tenten. "Don't worry. Even if I tell anyone, they won't believe me. They'll quicker think that I've broken out of the loony bin."

Neji frowned. "I'm not that heartless."

"Oh sweetie, I know that! But everyone else on the other hand….." Tenten shrugged as Neji's hand made his way into her hair again to absentmindedly remove a blade of grass. She looked at Neji only to see a slightly puzzled look on his face.

"Wait a sec. So you haven't ever noticed how people try their best to stay clear of you?" she asked and when Neji's hand paused, she knew she was right. "Damn Neji. You really are oblivious!"

"It's not an issue, Tenten. The less people in my face, the better. At least I'm not mobbed by every girl in the school like Uchiha."

Tenten grinned. "Oh, so you hate having girls converge on ya huh? I'll keep that I mind," she said, causing Neji to laugh as well.

After their laughter died down, he lay back down on the blanket and resumed his work of watching the progress of celestial changes in the night sky. Tenten did the same; her head gently resting against is right shoulder. She closed her eyes breathing deeply into the sleeve of his shirt and found it oddly relaxing. _I could stay like this forever,_ she thought.

"I know there's something you're not telling me Ten…"

Tenten's eyes flew open, startled. "What?" she asked softly completely dumfounded. Somehow the cool night breeze dropped a few degrees.

"…But it's ok," Neji continued as though Tenten had not interrupted him.

"How did you guess?" asked Tenten uncomfortably.

"I did a little bit of research…"

"You did what?" snapped Tenten, her facing rising in colour as she inched away from him.

"When you kicked my ass that day on the soccer field, I realized that you had to be a martial artist. I knew your name sounded familiar but I couldn't remember where I had heard it before. So I crossed referenced your name and then it jolted my memory; you were supposed to be on my team for the Inter-Country Martial Arts Tournament, weren't you?" he asked rhetorically. That last comment raised a whole lot of alarms in her head.

"Is that what you do to all of your dates, Neji Hyuga? Get background checks?" she asked viciously on the defense, rising to her feet to grab her shoes, resolved at the notion to start running when the opportunity arose.

Neji also rose to his feet; his temper also rising. "Knock it off Tenten! You're overreacting!"

"Overreacting am I?" screeched Tenten, her eyes brimming with tears and her face and ears red with both embarrassment and rage. "How the hell am I supposed to feel if someone who I trust has been undermining me behind my back?"

She spun around and started sprinting off towards the path they had taken, which led straight back to the main road. She had only run a short distance when Neji caught up with her and grabbed her wrist.

She turned to face him only to pull away from him and slap him across the face with the captured hand. "Don't touch me!" she screamed at him, her cries making her sound like a wounded animal. "And don't _ever_ speak to me again!"

She ran away from him, skillfully dodging trees and short scrub. She ran towards her sanctuary, her home, the only place where she felt safe and the only place she knew he wouldn't find her, even though it was miles away.

If anyone were outside after nine that night, they would have seen a tall girl, her brown hair rushing behind her as she ran barefoot; holding a pair of stilettos tightly within her grasp. She ran and ran, fighting back the tears which threatened to fall and mess up her perfectly applied makeup.

Inwardly, her conscience tried to make a rational argument; she knew deep down, sooner or later, he would find out. But her emotional turmoil vetoed that notion. She felt a hard pressure on her chest, pulsating as though she would explode.

When she neared her apartment, her feet dirty and bruised from running barefoot all across town, she nearly tore down the gate as she thundered up the drive towards the staircase. She brushed past her neighbour, who was putting Chansu outside.

"Hey girlie!" he called as he forced his back to straighten as soon as the ginger cat was let loose. "Aren't you supposed to be staying at your friend's house for the weekend?"

_Ino_, she thought as she ran up the endless flight of stairs. They were probably waiting for her to return, to unload all the gooey details about her official date. But they would wait.

She finally reached her floor and continued to run towards her door, out of breath and her eyes opaque with tears. She fumbled with her spare key, which she retrieved from under her mat since all of her belongings were still at Ino's, as a sob escaped her lips. The old pine door finally opened and she rushed inside while promptly slamming the door behind her so hard that the old plaster ceiling shook.

She leaned back onto the door and slid downwards as she finally let the tears flow. She cried out in anguish as though someone had wounded her terribly.

Her sobs escalated and she lay on the ground and curled up her body in a foetus position, clutching her chest.

She wasn't wounded physically, but emotionally.

She now understood what it was like to have a broken heart.

* * *

This was surprisingly hard to write. I hope you all don't hate me too much for this spin in the plot.

Thank you to all my reviewers so far: naash, WeaponsMistressofCA, SaturnXK, Rainbowed-Sunned-Spirit, Bookworm73, Dark Anonymous324, Navaka114, Midnight Insomniac, xAlternativexMusicxGirlx, ColieColie,nejitenten4evr, xelektracrystallis, Helga4ever, , Shiz-Chirisaa, The Winggodess, Aslikain Kiant, G Ruzz With Skizzers, chichi11101, Haylin-chan, shadowjinx, ferbfletcherlover, IaiGureisama, OpalescentStorm, Sashabelle, runjumpfly07, Tenten-Kunai, madisonntaylor, ELunamoon, My Delilah, Oyaka-sama, frowninggivesyouwrinkles

Review! xD


	11. Shattered

So one month down and one more to go before school starts back and I start Unit 2 CAPE ( which i'm soooo not looking foward too 'cause CAPE unit 1 was a bitch last year and I'm sure her twin sister is going to be just as bad... or maybe worse?)

So that's the end of my rant. Enjoy!

**Disclamer:** I don't, and will never own Naruto.

* * *

Chapter 10

**Shattered Heart**

The best way to mend a broken heart is time and girlfriends. ~Gwyneth Paltrow

Morning came too soon. From her position on the floor in the doorway, Tenten saw the sunrays, streaming through the uncovered window in her shabby, little living room. The curtain was, out of habit, drawn to the side to reveal the lush green ash tree sitting right outside the window and all of nature's work was on display. Usually she enjoyed her backyard scenery, but today she wished for the rain; cold and harsh accompanied with gale force winds to reflect the storm within her heart. Or maybe an extreme blizzard common in Siberia. She'd take anything except this oxymoron which was taunting her as if to say that with or without her, life goes on as usual.

Her usually vibrant brown eyes were, at the moment, red and puffy from crying for hours on end and the lack of sleep. Her mascara streaked down her face, leaving long black lines connecting her eyes to her chin giving her a clownish expression. She lay helplessly on the cold floor staring at the ceiling. After how much she cried last night, she wouldn't have been surprised that she had no more tears to shed for a little while.

She still wore the fancy dress which she had bought just for her-

Tenten closed her eyes and sighed sadly. She couldn't even conjure the word in her mind without feeling her heart throb painfully. It was going so well until….

Until he decided that her secrets had to become his own.

Her conscience tried to reason with her again, sensing that she had calmed down, somewhat. She knew that sooner or later, everyone would find out about her history. Chancellor Tsunade only knew because it was through her that Tenten was able to attend the school in the first place. Hinata knew because she, Tenten, told her best friend out of confidence. If she could have enlightened Hinata about her past why couldn't she tell Sakura or Ino?

The little voice in her head asked her that if she could have told Hinata, why was it so problematic that N-….her cousin knew as well?

And why was it so hard to say his name?

She closed her eyes again. _Thank Kami it's Sunday_, she sighed inwardly. She didn't have to work today, nor did she have to deal with people from school. And speaking of school; she winced as her mind remembered Ino, Sakura and Hinata. She was supposed to go back to Ino's house when her fiasco of a date was over. She was sure that all three adolescent girls were wondering what in the world had happened to her. That is, unless, Hinata had called N-…_him_, when it was getting too late.

Tenten groaned aloud. She still couldn't say his name without her heart trembling in pain. After staring up at the ceiling blankly for another couple of seconds, she decided that it was time to get the hell off of the floor, and move her butt into the bathroom. She pushed herself upright and focused her attention to the clock situated on her living room wall. It was already 9 am and it was too late for Tenten to start her morning exercise regimen. _ As if I was going to leave this apartment anytime soon,_ she scoffed.

She walked into her bathroom with the elegance of a drunken sloth; her legs apparently still asleep. She stopped short in front of the mirror bolted onto the wall over the sink observing the most pathetic sight she had ever seen. The girl in the mirror looked as though the world had completely (for lack of better words) fucked her over. Her usually vibrant chocolate brown eyes were so bloodshot and puffy Tenten doubted that it would disappear completely before school tomorrow. _Or I could skip tomorrow_, she thought ruefully as she gripped the tap and turned it anticlockwise. Cool water ran down the drain as she stared at her face once more. Her cupped hands caught the rushing water and she leaned over the face basin and promptly splashed the water onto her skin. Her fingertips massaged her swollen eyes momentarily before reaching for the soap. She lathered her hands and closed her eyes before kneading the soap suds into her skin washing off the remnants of her make up. She waited until her eyes stared to burn as the detergent came into contact with the sensitive aqueous humour before rubbing her face under the tap. She scrubbed her face dry with the wash cloth next to her and blearily stared at her reflection once more.

_I'm pathetic_, she thought. _Only a pathetic person with a weak heart and a thin skin would allow herself to hit rock bottom like this. Only a pathetic person would let in people this deep._

She tilted her head to the side. If only she had just kept her head down and watched where she was going, she wouldn't have met Hinata or bumped into her cousin. If only she hadn't tried out for the soccer team, then they wouldn't have fought. If she hadn't fallen for Neji…

…then she definitely wouldn't have reached an all-time low.

Tenten scoffed. If only indeed!

* * *

It was already five to eight and Tenten was still pacing on the sidewalk two blocks away from the school's compound. "Five minutes until the bell," she muttered to herself glancing at her banged up sports watch. There were still too much people milling about for her to get in undetected. She dropped her bag unto the ground and leaned back onto the dirty wall behind her. Cleanliness, she decided, was the least of her problems right now thinking about the dark stains that would be rubbed onto her white shirt.

A distant clanging caught her attention and her head poked out from behind the wall to observe the latecomers scurrying into the main building which housed the assembly hall. She hoisted her bag onto her shoulder and waited for the second bell to ring. Two minutes later the last set of stragglers entered the main gate and stubbornly dragged up the steps just as the second bell sounded. _This is my chance_, she thought and she broke into a high speed run towards the wrought iron gate bearing the school's insignia.

She was directly across the street from the school ready to emerge from the alleyway when a familiar limousine appeared. Tenten swore loudly and recoiled, plastering her back to the wall as the vehicle pulled to halt. Tenten peered out over the edge of the wall and saw, just as expected, the same people she had been dreading to see. The limo pulled away from the curb revealing the two Hyugas with their backs facing her.

Neji turned to his cousin and spoke while walking slowly to the stairs. "Come, Hinata, we're already late." _Yes! Go Hinata! Start walking so I could get to class_, pleaded Tenten from her hidden position. She had expected Hinata to nod and follow the boy meekly into the building. What she wasn't expecting was for Hinata to fold her arms over her bountiful chest (for a fifteen year old girl that is) and roll her eyes at her cousin. Tenten's eyes widened in shock. "What the hell?"

Neji sighed and turned and faced her Hinata. Tenten pulled back quickly so that Neji wouldn't see her. He continued talking to his cousin while Tenten listened.

"Are you going to continue in this irrational manner Hinata?"

"Irrational?" shrieked Hinata. "What the h- hell, Neji Hyuga?" she spluttered angrily at him, stuttering on the delicate word. Tenten gasped; for Hinata to swear the apocalypse was probably coming early. Or Neji had really pissed her off.

Tenten looked cautiously at the pair as Neji's eyes narrowed on his cousin. "I'm not getting back into this argument again, Hinata. You've been snapping at me all weekend!"

"And with good reason too!" she countered, her lavender eyes narrowing on the tall long-haired boy. "If you weren't so awful to Tenten…"

"That's none of your business," he snapped, cutting Hinata off. "I've already said my piece, so would you just leave it alone!"

"I'm not going too, nii-san," she retorted, "I won't let it go until you apologize to my best friend."

Tenten whistled softly to herself. _So Hinata actually does have a spine, go figure_. Their argument was apparently so loud that to girls flew out the building towards the pair. If it weren't for the yellow-blonde and cotton candy pink blurs, Tenten would never have guessed that Ino and Sakura had joined the soiree. Or better yet; been eavesdropping just like her.

"Hinata? Why are you out here?" questioned Sakura, coming to a halt in front of the brunette, who was currently having a staring match with her older cousin.

Hinata glared at Neji for another full minute before answering her. "My cousin needs to learn how to get the h-hell off of his high horse for one minute and try to consider other people's feelings for once in his goddamn life," she snarled.

Ino wolf-whistled behind her. "Wow Hina-chan! Did you just cuss? Twice?"

"Hinata, assembly's over. Why don't we leave Neji-san and go to homeroom, ok?" cajoled Sakura, taking Hinata's hand and pulling her gently towards the building.

Hinata stalled for a minute and glanced back at her cousin, her eyes turning from hatred to sadness. "Please Neji," she pleaded with him. "Please talk to her!"

"She lied to me Hinata," he spat out.

"She didn't lie to you, nii-san. She just didn't tell you the truth," she replied softly.

Ino and Sakura frowned at them and Tenten could read their twin expressions and it was a cross between _what the fuck was going on? _And_ are we missing something here?_

Neji sighed and hitched his bag higher onto his shoulder before brushing past his cousin and her two friends and stalking into the building, taking the stairs two at a time.

Hinata stared after him as he passed through the doorway and turned right; taking the passage that led him to the sophomore homerooms. Tenten glanced at her watch again it was already twenty past eight. She was definitely late for homeroom now. She copied Neji and adjusted the straps of her satchel and got ready to move as soon as her three friends entered the school.

"Come on guys, we're late," said Sakura, "and I don't know about you two but I really don't want detention."

"We're coming," responded Ino. Halfway up the stairs Hinata tugged on her arm.

"Hey Ino, did you bring Tenten's stuff?"

"Yeah I did," Ino responded, "but honestly," she glanced around at the school yard, "I don't think she's coming today."

"I guess you're right," Hinata replied glumly as the continued up the stairs and disappearing through the left passageway.

Tenten emerged from her hiding spot in the alley. She stared at the school once more, convinced that she was able to go to class; after all she was only twenty minutes late. But Neji's face came back to her mind and what he had said.

"_She lied to me, Hinata."_

The brown haired tomboy did something un-Tenten-like. She turned around and ran in the opposite direction, towards her apartment, leaving a trail of tears in her wake.

* * *

The school's cafeteria was noisy as usual but there were four people who sat amidst the ruckus, lost in their own thoughts. Sakura, Ino and Hinata were practically forcing themselves to talk to each other, while they struggled to swallow their lunch. Hinata's eyes creased as she pushed a mushroom around her plate absentmindedly.

Ino monitored the girl for a few more seconds before turning her attention to her pink-haired friend, who was glumly staring at her math book and tapping her mechanical pencil rhythmically on the table. Ino peered over her shoulder and raised an eyebrow at the unfinished work.

"Um, Forehead?"

"What?" she replied, monotonously still staring at her the question.

"Didn't you get that done last night?"

"No," she answered flatly, scribbling some calculations down on the half-empty page.

"You do know that this is due next period right?"

"No duh, pig," Sakura responded glumly while consulting her calculator. She punched in the digits only to swear under her breath and scratch off the lines of mathematical working in front of her.

"Math is so not my subject," she declared, pushing her books away from her and shoveling down a mouthful of her lunch and chewing slowly.

Ino rolled her eyes. "No duh, forehead," she replied sarcastically.

"Tenten's the Math genius and she said that she would help me with this when she came back from her date Saturday," muttered Sakura.

"Yes, she said that she was going to help me with Physics as well," added Hinata, dropping her chopsticks and propped her head on her hand. "But my cousin just had to ruin things."

Ino and Sakura glanced at each other tersely, before turning back to Hinata. "Um, Hinata about that…" started Sakura.

"What is it?"

"We were, um, wondering what exactly happened between Tenten and Neji on Saturday?"

Hinata sighed and closed her eyes momentarily. "I'm sorry guys, but you'll have to ask Tenten that herself."

"But you know something you!" insisted Ino. "And it must be really bad to have Neji looking like that," she added gesturing to the long haired boy who was stabbing at his vegetables moodily.

"Yes," responded Hinata, hesitantly, "but Tenten swore me to secrecy."

"That's ok, honey," said Ino, amiably reaching over the table to pat her friend's head like a puppy. "We'll grill her for details when she comes back to school."

"That's if she's coming back," mumbled Hinata.

"Hey now! Let's try to be positive about this," said Sakura, looking at Hinata's worried expression. "Would our Tenten let some guy prevent her from living her life the way she wants to?"

Ino sighed and stared at the empty space at their table. "I don't know, forehead. At this point, anything's possible."

Suddenly a brainwave hit Hinata. "I have an idea guys. What are you all doing after school?"

"Well, I usually work the evening shift with my dad at the flower shop, but I can call him," responded Ino.

"And I'm free," added Sakura, "I just have to call my mom. What do you have in mind?"

"That we go and talk some sense into Tenten," proposed Hinata.

"But Hinata, we don't know where she lives," stated Sakura. She paused and then frowned before continuing, "As a matter of fact, we don't really know much about her personal life, like what her parent's do for a living."

"Neither do I, but if I know Tenten, I know exactly where she would be this evening," assured Hinata, smiling at her own plan.

* * *

She ran and ran. It was the only thing she could do. It was the only thing that she _knew_ to do. She ran from her old life because she needed an escape. She ran from Neji, instead of facing the situation head on. She ran from her friends and the entire school, knowing that she would have a ton of work to catch up on, because she was too afraid to face her friends. And this evening she continued her marathon run from life.

After keeping herself airtight within her dirty apartment and wearing the holiest clothes she owned, Tenten decided that she needed some fresh air. But she waited until the sun had set behind the mountain range, before changing into a pair of sweatpants and a jacket, to protect her from the late October chill. The nightlights in and around her apartment had just been turned on when Tenten sprinted out of the yard and onto the street. Her steps quickened as she made it around the block and then the second before running across the bridge and into the park.

The park in question was almost deserted; only a few stragglers who were taking advantage of the weather to burn any extra calories gained while working in the office or the random couple basking in each other's presence in the twilight, which, quite frankly, made Tenten sick to watch.

She took a detour to her left, following one of the many trails which she knew by heart. She continued at this pace, focusing on her controlled breathing and the erratic beating of her athletic heart. She rushed through the thickset of trees and short shrubs before entering a familiar clearing overlooking a large lake. She looked straight ahead towards the family picnic area, which housed a few wooden benches, only to stop dead in her tracks at the sight before her.

Three teenage girls with the most outstanding blend of hair colour sat one next to each other staring around, munching on a bag of popcorn as though they were watching a movie. Tenten skated to a halt a few paces away from them and made a strangled gasp. Three heads shot to her direction and got up slowly.

"Wow, Hina-chan, you were right," commented Ino as stood and pushed back her bangs.

Tenten's eyes widened in shock. "How did you guys get her?"

"Hinata," responded Sakura folding her arms and looking critically at the tomboy before her.

Tenten took a hesitant step towards them and muttered, "Ok, so that deals with the 'how'. Now all I want to know is why?"

"What do you mean by 'why', Ten?" asked Hinata. "We're your friends and you are a hard person to pin down."

"Yeah, Tenten, we were expecting you in school today, but you were a no show," added Ino.

Tenten sighed and motioned for them to make room for her on the bench next to Sakura. She sat and stared at the reflected surface of the lake before responding. "I'm sorry guys," she said softly, "it's just that I need time…"

"Time to do what? Come on! It can't be that bad," protested Sakura turning to look at Tenten's ashen face. "I mean isn't that what relationships involve behinds the holding hands and all that lovey-dovey stuff you and Neji do when you think that_ no one_ is looking. And these kinds of arguments can be fixed, right?"

"Not this one, Sakura," Tenten answered softly. Her chocolate eyes closed releasing the wetness gathering from her tear ducts. She felt the salty drips make its way over her cheekbones and down to her chin. _Great! Just great! This just had to happen now of all times,_ she thought as she furiously brushed the tears away from her eyes with her wrist. She wiped the dampness on her pants, trying to keep her emotions in check, only to completely breakdown in front of her friends.

Ino and Hinata's eyes shot to her as she bent her head and then started to sob; her hands clenched on her thighs and tears cascading like a waterfall down her face.

"Ten!"

"Stop Tenten! It's going to be alright."

Sakura wound her arm around her and her head fell sideways onto the pink-haired girls shoulder hiccupping as the other two girls got up from their seats to crouch down in front of her. They brushed her bangs out of her face and rubbed her shoulder while they waited for her cries to subside. When it finally did, Tenten sat upright and wiped her face with the dainty handkerchief Hinata had offered.

"Thanks guys," she said hoarsely, blowing her nose. "I'm really glad you guys are here. I just really need to get it off my chest."

"Before you talk Ten, can I just say that it's almost eight and it's pretty cold out," Ino interrupted, rubbing her bare forearms with her palms.

"Serves you right, Pig," commented Sakura. "We told you to wear a jacket."

"And _I _told you that I don't have a jacket to match my outfit," she replied gesturing to her trendy clothes.

"Won't your parents be worried that you all were out so late?" inquired Tenten, cutting in.

All three girls looked guiltily at each other before answering.

"Well you see…"

"I kind of told my dad…

"And I also told my parents…"

"That we were having a study session with you and we won't be coming home until our curfews," they replied in unison.

Tenten raised an eyebrow at them and then gave them a watery chuckle. "You people are unbelievable!"

"And that's why love us so much Ten-chan. _And_ we bought food for the soul," Ino said laughing while she held up a plastic bag with a tub of ice cream. The condensation on the container allowed the clear bag to stick to it allowing Tenten to read the name of her favourite ice-cream in Konoha.

Tenten laughed and stood up. It was getting really late and they needed to get out of the lonely park for the usual safety reasons.

"I guess it's time to show you guys where I live, huh?"

The three adolescents smiled back at her. Tenten took a deep breath and looked at the path before her before leading them back to the trail to begin her trek back to her sanctuary, where the inevitable was going to happen.

* * *

R&R?


	12. The Invitation

Chapter 11

**The Invitation**

"_A friend should be one in__whose understanding and virtue we can equally confide, and whose opinion we can value at once for its justness and its sincerity." __Robert Hall _

Tenten pushed the worn, iron gate inward, thanking her lucky stars that the maintenance man had not locked it while she was out. Sakura, Ino and Hinata walked in silently behind her and for that Tenten was grateful. The tomboy did not even acknowledge them as she continued towards the staircase. As they mounted the stairs she sighed inwardly. For many years she had climbed these stairs alone; not actually, since she had only been living in this dingy apartment for a few months, but figuratively. This was the first time she was allowing someone, or in this case, multiple persons inside her private life, her personal bubble, which she had kept hidden so well for, well forever.

They finally reached her floor and still the only sound she heard from her hindsight was the creaky stairs worn away from overuse and termites. She had half-expected Ino at least to stick in a humorous comment here or there, but alas, her usually talkative friend had nothing to comment on… yet.

She dug her keys out of the pocket from her sweat pants as Hinata, Sakura and Ino crept nearer to her. She slid the key into the lock and twisted it, while shaking the door knob for a few seconds before it creaked open. Tenten pushed the door inwards and stood to the side, in a hospitable manner, to allow the other girls to enter.

"Well, guys, this is it. Make yourself at home."

Sakura stepped over the threshold and gazed at her little, neat but shabby apartment. "Wow Ten, all of this is yours?"

Tenten gave a rueful smile. "Actually a portion of my scholarship money pays for my rent; so technically, the school board owns my apartment."

"I still think it's cool," Ino added following Sakura into the living/dining room. "It's like you have your own little bachelorette pad."

Hinata was the last person to enter. She walked forward, carefully studying her home, before turning to her brown-haired friend. "So this is you sanctuary?"

Tenten nodded. "This is the only place where I feel safe; the only place I can truly be myself."

Hinata smiled at her warmly and took her by the hand as she led the way into her living room. Ino was already lounging on her couch with one of my periodicals open in front of her. Sakura, on the other hand, was taking her own tour of my living room and was now examining the few personal items of importance, resting on the shelf next to my desk.

"You won all of these?" she asked as she examined the couple of soccer and karate trophies that I had won in numerous school and club competitions.

"Yeah," I responded as she lifted my MVP trophy from the last soccer season, closer to her face as she rubbed the pad of her index over my name, which had been engraved into the metal.

"At least that's the one thing I hadn't been lying to everyone about."

Ino lowered the magazine to frown at me. "Look tomboy! We're not here to criticize anything. We're just here to know you better. And you can start by telling us why you're all alone in this apartment. By yourself. In the roughest part of town? I mean, we're the hell are your parents and why on Buddha's green earth would they let you stay in a dangerous place like this by yourself?"

Tenten waited for Ino to take a breather from her rant. "Don't you guys think it's weird that I don't have a surname?"

Hinata froze. "You d-don't have…"

Sakura lifted the trophy once more noticing that only under the heading 'Most Valuable Player' was just simply her first name 'Tenten' engraved in a simple font. She looked up with a confused expression, "Ten, the only people who don't have surnames are ones that…" her voice trailed off allowing Tenten to pick up.

"I'm an orphan."

Ino's eyes widened as she stared at her friend while Sakura dropped into the nearest chair. Hinata, on the other hand, already hearing the story, looked at her brown haired friend and nodded in encouragement.

Tenten sighed and began to tell her story.

"I never met my parents. From my earliest moment till a few months ago, the orphanage in the adjourning town to Konoha was my home. The other twenty-five kids of varying ages were my siblings. We helped each other out with our school work, we trained together in various sporting disciplines and, most importantly, we watched each other's backs when going got tough. Sometimes we never all got enough to eat, so it was customary for the older kids give up a portion of their food to make sure the younger ones got enough."

Tenten's brown eyes filled with tears and she immediately shut them in an attempt to quell the salty flow from her tear ducts. "Everyone knew that I was an orphan and because of that, I was treated like shit! As though I was worthless. At first I thought that if I kept myself out of the limelight then the kids would stop bullying me, but that didn't work. The home's councilor told me that when you're different you shouldn't hide in the shadows. I knew that I was a talented athlete so she told me to try out for as much sports teams as possible.

"That's when things started looking up. I grew aggressive and soon I was the one throwing the punches when anyone tried to make me fall flat on my face. As a result, the verbal attacks stopped. People stopped making too much eye contact than necessary. I started playing soccer, running on the school's track team and joining the karate club and from there, I actually felt as though I was powerful; I had finally found something that I was good at and I was going to succeed no matter what life threw at me. But it wasn't enough since that day I found out about the blog."

Tenten stood and walked towards the window and stood before the glass, leaning her forehead against it. She stared at her woeful reflection and she allowed her tears to flow freely for the nth time of the day.

It was Hinata who finally broke the silence. "What blog, Ten?" she asked curiously, since this was the first time she was hearing this part of the story.

"There were these girls in my class last year who I've known since the third grade. These girls were the meanest, most evil people to ever walk the school yard. Maybe the earth. They make Karin, Rin and Tayuya look like a couple of pipsqueaks. They were the top terrorisers in the school. No they weren't at the top of the food chain; they were more like the girls who were somewhere in the middle who were included into the 'in' crowd for pestering anyone who doesn't have an 'acceptable background' or if they thought that someone was too pretty, too kind, too smart and so on.

"When these girls realized that I was moving up in ranks because I started making honour roll and I was being scouted to take part in varsity sports that's when they started blacklisting me."

"Blacklisting you?" asked Ino confused. "What the hell did they do, Tenten?"

"They tried to ruin me, in more ways than one." Tenten took a deep breath and brushed the back of her hand over her eyes and she turned to face her friends.

"On the blog that they ran, they posted a 'blacklist'. On this list were the names of all the people in our junior high, male and female, who they believed should die a social death. It sounds pathetic and really juvenile, because it truly is! It's just that some of the things they wrote were horrible.

"This group of girls consisted of at least one influential person that served as their ringleader. She was in the same year as me and her father was a powerful politician, so whatever she wanted her dad would just snap his fingers and make it happen.

"On the blog, I found out that she had planned to humiliate me in the worst case scenario ever. She was going to hire some guys to corner me when I was walking back home from school late. They were supposed to," she inhaled sharply and whispered, "_rape_ me before slitting my throat."

All three girls gasped aloud. "What the…" Sakura muttered, while Ino's jaw dropped and two fat droplets ran down Hinata's cheeks.

Tenten let out a shaky dry sob. "I was so _scared_ and the first thing I did was to tell the principal, 'cause enough was enough. But that decision would cost me my career has a national athlete. The girl was expelled but her parents paid off the judge so she got off scotch free. Even though she wasn't allowed anywhere near me she still found a way to screw with me for one last time."

She turned to Hinata. "Do you remember that someone from the national karate squad pulled out last minute from entering the tournament during the summer?" Hinata nodded.

"After I got chosen to go because I had won the state tournament, the police raided my locker at school and they found twenty milligrams of processed marijuana. I was arrested and incarcerated for three days until the DA office convinced the judge to have me undergo a series of blood work and steroid tests to prove my innocence.

"After the tests were completed and it was announced that I was clean, all of the charges against me were dropped. But by that time, the damage had already been done. I had lost my placed on the national team and even though I could have still gotten back on, I had lost my sponsor courtesy a certain politician, who was still using his place in office to make my life a living hell.

"Two weeks after I had graduated, my councilor had me signed up to write the scholarship exam so I could get into a private high school out of the province and away from my past so I could start afresh. And by some miracle I won the scholarship to attend Konoha."

She looked at all of her friends. "So now you know. I'm sorry guys. I could understand that you wouldn't want to be friends with me again…"

Tenten was cut off as three adolescent girls rushed at her and pulled her into a three-way bone crushing hug.

"You are so stupid if you think that we would allow your past to prevent us from still being your friends," commented Ino.

"More like she's stupid to think that what happened in the past is all her goddamned fault!" exclaimed Sakura, wiping the fresh tears from her viridian eyes.

Tenten gave a watery chuckle. "Thanks so much guys."

* * *

The chirping of the family of blackbirds, rising in the ash tree outside started promptly at the crack of dawn. This acted as a catalyst for the receptors in Tenten's brain to jolt her awake as though she had an internal alarm clock.

The first thing she noticed when her chocolate brown eyes opened was that someone had flung an arm of her waist constricting her movement. She shifted to the right slightly only to bump into another body with long black hair with natural midnight blue hues in the undertone. Tenten rolled her eyes. Her friends had insisted in spending the night at her apartment despite Tenten's protests ensuring them that she would be alright by herself. This had urged the three girls to call their parents to say that they were spending the night at a friend's house to finish a homework assignment, assuring them that they would get a ride back home early in the morning to dress for school.

Tenten rubbed her eyes and pushed Ino's limbs of her gently, before stepping nimbly over Hinata and Sakura, who was sleeping on the edge. She placed her bare feet onto the carpet and stretched lazily before walking towards her stove. She left the kettle on the stove and headed to the bathroom to brush her teeth. Within five minutes the high pitched whistling of the kettle was heard and woke Hinata, Ino and Sakura from their slumber.

Tenten dried her face and walked back into her room. "Rise and shine ladies. Time for school!"

Hinata sighed and grabbed her I-phone from Tenten's small rickety bedside table to call for her limo. "Ohayo Ko! Can you pick me up at this address?" she turned her head to face her brown haired friend who whispered her address. Hinata repeated the directions to her driver and paused. She sat up straight hearing his response and frowned, "What do you mean 'why I'm in this part of town'?" Her frown lines deepened while listening to his lecture. "For your information Ko-san, my father is aware of my whereabouts and he has given me permission to spend the night here, unless you are questioning my father's authority?" she asked warningly.

The frown lines on her forehead evened out as her chauffer stumbled of his words in apology. "You are forgiven Ko-san, just be here in fifteen minutes." She clicked 'end call' on the touch screen. "Sakura, Ino, I'll drop both of you at home," she said to the other girls before pushing her tired body from the bed.

Ino and Sakura followed suit and all three girls were stretching and yawning as the traipsed into Tenten's small, cramped bathroom to rinse their mouths to eliminate their obvious morning breath. When Hinata reentered the kitchen area, Tenten was placing teacups of coffee on the wobbly secondhand dining room table for her friends to partake. Hinata picked up a cup and sipped slowly, savouring the taste.

"Hey Ten! Now that we now where you live, be prepared for outrageous sleepovers in the future," Ino said smirking as she and Sakura joined them in the kitchen.

Tenten rolled her eyes. "I knew I shouldn't have brought you here. My humble abode is going to be turned into an Ino-style salon."

Hinata's phone rang and the Hyuga just looked at the caller ID and rolled her eyes in an un-Hinata-like way.

"What's wrong Hinata?" asked Tenten, but Hinata just lifted her forefinger to silence her before answering sarcastically. "Ohayo Neji-nii-san." She took a deep breath and listened to her cousin badger her. "Apparently, you and Ko-san are of the same mind nii-san. I am currently at a friend's house so you would have to take another vehicle to school since Ko-san is taking my friends and me to school a bit later."

She stopped again to listen to Neji and the frown on her face was quickly exchanged for a look of surprise. "Thank you for reminding me, give them to Ko-san so I could pass them on to my friends later," she responded in a more docile tone than before. Then exchanged their goodbyes and Hinata hung up before turning to face her friends anxiously. "Every Christmas vacation for one week, my father takes my sister, Neji and I to our ski resort for a week and this time he's allowing us to bring three friends with us. Would you all like…"

"Yes!" they shouted in unison, cutting poor Hinata off before she had a chance to finish delivering her request.

"Don't you all want to ask your parents first, Sakura-chan and Ino-chan?"

"Of course my parents will let me go, won't yours Forehead?" asked Ino unabashedly put the pink haired girl's face dropped slightly.

"I'll have to ask them first Hina-chan, now that I've thought about it. And they would want to see the invitation as well."

"Neji will be giving my driver your invitations, so I'll give them to you right before we go to our first period classes."

"It's a deal then," concluded Tenten as the other girls set their emptied cups down and rose to leave. Hinata's phone rang once again alerting her that her driver was downstairs waiting for her. Sakura and Ino grabbed their belongings and after giving Tenten a hug, trailed after Hinata down the staircase. Tenten closed her door and made her way back to the kitchen to finish her breakfast before getting dressed for school. After all, she finally regained her zeal to attend class once more and not even her recent emotional turmoil is going to allow her to stay away from school again.

* * *

An hour and a half later, found a red-faced Tenten sprinting through her usual shortcut before the bell rang promptly at eight. She raced down two alley ways and when she had arrived at the familiar brick wall confirming a dead end, she immediately slung her bag over her neck and scaled the wall effortlessly. She jumped down to the pavement before crossing the street and running towards the wrought iron gates of Konoha High. She did not stop to catch her breath however, but to continue running until she stopped abruptly in front of her friends at their usual rendezvous point – their neighboring lockers. Tenten dropped her bag on the ground and leaned onto her locker, clutching her sides.

"Did I… make it?" she gasped still red in the face and massaging the stich out of her ribs.

Sakura, who was timing her, consulted her watch. "This one was kinda close Ten. Only thirty more seconds from the first bell."

Ino rolled her pretty cerulean eyes. "Hey at least you made it in time," she commented before turning to close her locker while muttering, "_My friends are so weird!_"

Hinata also closed her locker and when she faced her friends; her face wore a puzzled expression. She flipped through the thick pages in her hand, obviously counting something, before backtracking her steps for a second, scanning the ground.

"Something wrong Hinata?" Hinata looked up only to see her tall bun-haired friend looking at her with those intelligent chocolate brown eyes.

"I'm so terribly sorry Tenten. I think I may have misplaced you invitation. I could have sworn that I counted three before I came out of the car this morning."

"Hey don't fret!" consoled Tenten dropping her palm to pat Hinata's head. "Whenever you find it, you'll just give it to me, right?"

Hinata nodded and handed Sakura and Ino their invitations. "Ok course Tenten-chan and if I can't find it, I'll just ask father to make another one for you."

The second bell rang signaling the start of first period. Sakura and Ino scurried off to class after saying their hasty goodbyes leaving Tenten and Hinata to make their way to the Chemistry lab. Tenten slung her satchel over her shoulder and proceeded down the hall with Hinata when she a brainwave hit her.

"Oh crap!" she exclaimed hitting her forehead. "I forgot my text book in my locker. Go on ahead to class, it'll only take a sec," she said and retraced her steps leading back to her locker.

_Now I'm going to be late_, she thought as she spun the combination lock around faster than usual before wrenching the metal door and grabbing her text book. She started sprinting down the corridor only to collide with a larger body causing her to drop all of her books. She did not look up at the person's face but muttered a hasty apology and dropped onto the ground to retrieve her belongings. A long-fingered porcelain hand reached down and plucked her chemistry text book, which was the root of her problems at the moment, and passed it to her. She mumbled her thanks as the person walked past her. Her back immediately straightened as she felt a jolt of electricity passing through her body as the ends of familiar long dark brown hair flew past her face upsetting the air around her. She gasped and clutched her books to her chest before running down the passage way, making a beeline towards the lab. She was almost afraid to turn back and face him at the moment; to see those opaque eyes that still haunt her thoughts.

She entered the room and after apologizing to her teacher for her tardiness, dropped onto the stool next to Hinata. The Hyuga girl was already measuring out the portions of sodium hydroxide for their titration lab and Tenten took it upon herself to open her book to the page illustrating the titration explanations and molar calculations. As she opened the cover of the book, a strange envelope addressed to her was staring up at her. Her eyes narrowed as she opened the envelope only to reveal her invitation to the Hyuga clan's ski resort. The same one Hinata had lost!

She gasped and looked at her friend while holding up her invitation. "Um, Hinata? I think I've found my invitation."

* * *

I humbly apologise for not updating sooner, but for people who are currently writing or preparing to write SATs, British A Levels and CAPE or any other upper level examination, then you will all agree with me when I say that school is a bitch!

Thanks to all my readers and reviewers. I hope that this chapter was worth the wait!

R&R


End file.
